Worlds Collide
by kakashifangrl1012
Summary: Kakashi returns to the wizarding world. But this time a different kind of danger threatens the magical world: a rogue shinobi. How did he get there in the first place? Only one other shinobi might know, and Kakashi hasn't seen her in nearly eight years. Chapter 11 is up!
1. Prologue

**This is it! The much anticipated sequel to Worlds Apart has arrived! It is worth mentioning that you need not read that story to understand this one, though it may be helpful. IMPORTANT NOTE: This chapter switches from first person POV to third person and back to first person at the end. Thank you so much for your patience as I ended the school year; it's always crazy! Now that I am into my relaxed summer, I have more time to focus on Worlds Collide and map out the story. As always, enjoy. **

0-o-0

Worlds Collide

0-o-0

Prologue

0-o-0

I thought of you as the dark, suffocating tunnel swallowed me whole. I was sure, in that moment, that I would never see you again. Would you understand, I wondered, why I had done what I had done—that it had to be done?

But then... No, you would never know what had happened.

It would be that thought, in the years to come, that would torture me the most. You would think that I was dead, but I wasn't, only a lifetime away. Eventually, I would learn to trap these thoughts in a tiny, dark corner of my mind and focus only on survival, on making sure _he_ didn't find me or the possession I carried that he so desperately sought. But it would take years, many narrow escapes, and countless nights without sleep for me to reach that grim acceptance, that state of utter hopelessness in which I couldn't bear to care any longer. The weight of the pain might have crushed me otherwise. And I had to survive.

But that would come at a point far in the future, and to understand the reasons behind my suffering, you must return to where the suffering began.

0-o-0

It was a beautiful day for traveling, she thought, especially knowing that she was going to help people for this mission. Their neighbor, the Waterfall Country, had asked for assistance from their ally, the Fire Country, in some of their outer lying villages. Recent storms had destroyed many of them, leaving some dead, but hundreds wounded and sick and homeless. Obligingly, Konoha had sent many of its warriors to help their long-standing ally. Rin Hayata was part of the third team to embark on this journey to help the Waterfall Country's citizens. She was invaluable because of her medical knowledge, and more recently, her fighting abilities. She wasn't nearly as good as some of Konoha's best, but she could more than hold her own if she had to.

Her newfound strength and skill was rooted from a promise she made to herself three years previously after a mission which only three other people knew existed. The events that had occurred in that adventure inspired her to become a better kunoichi; she knew for certain now that she wouldn't have to constantly rely on others to protect her. Months of training and honing of skills had led her to this mission: she was leading her own team. It was a four-man squad, which was actually comprised of two boys and two girls. They were all relatively close in age and got on well, though Rin wasn't especially familiar with any of them. Hikaru and Sora were the boys—the first was a strong-willed yet easy-going chunnin, the second was of the same rank but a medic in training, who would be performing small healings on his own and assist Rin whenever she needed help with more difficult processes. The girl, Akari, was a newly promoted jonin and skilled taijutsu practitioner. She and Rin were the only two jonin on the team, Rin herself having passed the exam a short while ago.

It was to be a relatively mundane mission, considering the horrors all of them had experienced during the Nine-Tails attack and the war. Rin especially had suffered during those times, losing one of her best friends and her sensei. She had been the first to comfort Minato and Kushina's baby boy, to pick him up and cradle him when everyone else was too afraid to even go near him. But she had been Kushina's caretaker throughout most of her pregnancy; she had known all the specifics about the Nine-Tails's containment and was no more afraid of Naruto than she had been of his mother. It was him that her thoughts meandered around as she glided through the leafy trees near Konoha's border.

Naruto was now a precocious near-three-year old, who loved nothing more than to run around and stir up whatever trouble he could get himself into. He looked more and more like his father every day; the only differences in looks between them were age and three lines on each of Naruto's cheeks. He discovered on his second birthday that ramen was the greatest thing he had ever tasted, and he constantly craved it. However, she made sure that he ate plenty of fruits and vegetables too. He had more energy than anyone she had ever known, and she had started to see a growing amount of determination at his command.

She took care of him as best she could. She couldn't be his mother or his father, but she considered herself to be more like his big sister, and loved him like a little brother. She was only a little worried about leaving him; he had been fine without her before when she went on other missions, but this one would be the longest yet—two weeks. She had called in a favor and the Nara family had agreed to take him while she was gone; their son Shikamaru was the same age and was one of the few children who didn't shy away from Naruto. They weren't really friends either; Rin suspected Shikamaru considered Naruto to be something like an interesting science experiment. But she trusted the family to look after him.

Speaking of looking after…

"Hikaru!" she called over her shoulder, "Everything okay back there?"

They were traveling in a diamond formation: she was in front, Akari was behind her to the left, Sora to the right, and Hikaru brought up the rear. Usually, the vibrant chunnin would be chattering away or humming or doing something to make noise. But for the past few minutes, it had been oddly silent.

Upon hearing no returning answer, she turned in midair to find Sora and Akari still in formation, looking bored and tired… but Hikaru was gone. Immediately, she stopped on the next available tree limb; the other two followed suit on either side of her.

"He's missing," said Akari unnecessarily, turning to gaze back the way they had come. Rin couldn't help a feeling of trepidation wash over her. This could be bad.

"No he's not," Sora shook his head, "He's probably just—"

Suddenly, Hikaru dropped down so that his nose was inches from Rin's, hanging from his feet from the branch above them.

"Gotcha!" he said, grinning from ear to ear.

She didn't flinch but frowned at his antics, struggling with her expression to keep it that way. Obito used to pull similar stunts on her; "gotcha" was one of his favorite words. She would laugh every time. But now, from a team leader's perspective, the joke was a bit annoying.

"Hilarious," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Are you done behaving like an immature genin now?"

The grin fell from his face and turned into a pout. "Someone's cranky today. Relax, huh? I was just having some—"

He stopped mid-sentence as if someone had ripped the air from his lungs. Rin watched the life drain from his sparkling eyes. For a split-second, she refused to accept the information her eyes were feeding her brain… until a kunai whizzed past her left ear.

"MOVE!" she bellowed the unnecessary command at her remaining two teammates, who had already dodged the oncoming projectiles. Hikaru's lifeless body fell into her arms. Though it would have been more efficient to let him fall, she couldn't let him crash to the ground. She quickly dropped down to the forest floor. Though she looked, no further weapons or enemies followed her. Whoever the assailant was wanted to keep surprise on their side.

She laid Hikaru's body at the base of the tree, seeing that he had taken a kunai to the back of the head. She realized that if he hadn't been there, the weapon would have struck her, right between the eyes.

Diagonally above her, a giant fireball bloomed in the tree tops. Seconds later, Akari landed at her side. Blood stained her shoulder where she had been cut.

"I thought I saw him," she said, as Rin silently put a hand on her wounded shoulder, her eyes raking the tree tops. Healing chakra gathered in her palm and the cut was healed instantly.

"Where's Sora?" she asked as she dropped her arm, not daring to call his name.

"Here," he suddenly dropped down on Akari's other side. He immediately went over to Hikaru.

"He's dead," Rin informed him tonelessly, but she couldn't keep a slight quiver from her voice. "We have to keep moving." There would be time to grieve later, but they had to make sure they had a later first. They were out of their league here. Whoever the enemy was had gotten close enough to them without being noticed, and she and Akari had particularly acute senses. And even now that she knew he was following them she still couldn't sense him at all.

"We can't just leave him here!" Sora shouted as she was about to start running. She turned around.

"We'll come back for him," she replied. "But it wouldn't make much sense to give up our lives for someone who is already dead." The realization washed over her and she felt sick. It was her first mission as a leader and already she had gotten someone killed. "We have to go." she choked out.

She hadn't taken two steps before the scream pierced her ears.

Suddenly, she felt the enemy's chakra. It nearly overwhelmed her senses with its explosiveness. It was dense, weighing her down physically and mentally. How had he been hiding something this massive? It was only instinct that allowed her to turn around and fling a kunai at the source.

He smiled as he caught the weapon in his giant's hands. He had to be around six and a half feet tall, she guessed. Again she tried to process how he could be so strong and so hugeand move so _fast._ He twirled the kunai in one hand as if it were no more than a toy. Long greasy black strands of hair hung to his shoulders around his mottled face, which was pockmarked and scarred in several places, probably from battle. He would look completely feral, except that he wore a tan shinobi vest and deep green pants beneath a dark red cloak. He had no identifying headband or any indications that he was acting on behalf of another shinobi village. In fact, his clothes seemed mismatched, as if he had collected them over time. But what struck her most was the glint in his violet eyes. Madness reigned there.

He had grasped Sora around the neck with his other hand. The young medic struggled for breath. Hikaru's body lay behind him like a discarded doll.

"Give it to me," intoned the attacker. His voice seemed to rattle around Rin's brain. It sounded like two boulders grinding together, precariously held over her head. Then all at once they were falling around her. Crushing anything in their path. Destroying all life.

"What do you want?" she asked steadily, blinking a few times to clear her thoughts. Anything she had would be useless to this man, she thought. A pack full of medical supplies, some dried food, and water— there was nothing that she carried that was worth attacking four shinobi over.

She tried to focus on him. She realized that the giant standing before her was actually a shadow clone. Even though he was making his appearance known, he still went to the trouble of producing a clone to confront them. Why? Where was the host?

"The scroll. Give me the scroll," his impatience seeped into his chakra and the weight of it pressed down even further on her senses.

Scroll? What scroll? She didn't have—

She barely had time to register the shock in her expression when Akari rushed for Sora from her right. They were at least six feet from him; he could easily maneuver out of the way. The connections spread like wildfire across her brain. He wouldn't move. A shadow clone. _A shadow clone_. Why use a shadow clone? He wouldn't move. The final connection clicked.

"Akari! Get out—!" she screamed.

He smiled again before sparks raced across the clone's chest and it exploded. She watched as Sora and Akari were engulfed completely by orange flame. She felt her body being lifted from the ground from the force of the blast and she sailed through the air.

He used a shadow clone in order to launch an attack that would injure him otherwise.

And she had a scroll. She thought only three other people knew.

Obviously, she was wrong.

She crashed into something hard and fell into unconsciousness.

0-o-0

She judged it wasn't long after she passed out that she came back to her unmerciful reality. The unmistakable smell of burning foliage and flesh assailed her senses. She coughed as she pushed herself up into a roughly seated position. Burns covered her arms because she had reached up to protect her face, and a trickle of blood fell down her cheek from a head wound when she had crashed into the nearest tree. She could feel several burnt toes on her right foot, but those on her left were unscathed. There were a few other bumps and bruises, and everywhere felt sore, but nothing was broken; there were no life threatening injuries. It was nowhere near the damage she should have taken. Somehow, he had controlled the blast, leaving her alive, and—

She finally noticed that their bodies were gone. Only a pile of ashes remained, of all three of them, along with several overturned trees. Her mind blanked, and she knew she was in shock. Her logical brain had diagnosed her injuries and avoided emotional pain. She was frozen.

The attacker stood a few feet from her, surveying the damage.

"The scroll," he whispered. Still she heard him; the silence was almost heavier than his chakra.

How did he know about the scroll? Or was he under orders from someone else? Still, she had never told anyone about it, or the mission. Had he been watching her? Could he have somehow pieced it together?

Numbly, she shrugged off her backpack, which was still intact despite her injuries. Air assaulted the burns on her arms, making moving at all excruciatingly difficult, but she was only half aware of the pain. From a smaller side pocket she removed the scroll: it contained the parameters of a completed mission from three years ago. It was also a key to another world.

That world was controlled by wizards, not shinobi.

She had kept it after the mission was complete; there was no way it could be reactivated, she was told. It was harmless and useless. She threw it on the ground before her, forcing him to come pick it up. She shrugged the pack back over her shoulders. If he came close enough, she could try to take him off guard while he was distracted by his precious, worthless scroll. Her hand fell to her side as she watched him approach. Her finger tips brushed the handle of a long wooden stick just protruding from her kunai holster. A wizard's weapon, the wand—purchased at Ollivander's in Diagon Alley. It was simple, made of Rosewood, fourteen and a half inches long with a winding spiral etched in it from the tip to the handle. The handle itself was unadorned save for a section no longer than a centimeter at the end, shaped like a tiny, intricate leaf. Its core was made of unicorn hair, Olivander had said. The wandmaker told her that it was one of the most beautiful wands he had ever sold, beautiful because of its simplicity, yet also its intricacy. It had a gentleness about it, he said. But, of course, even the gentle rose has thorns.

He wouldn't expect the wand, she thought. But if he knew about the scroll, what else did he know? It didn't matter; it was the only chance she had. Her brain was too shock-addled to come up with a better plan, and even if she did, she doubted she'd have the energy to complete it. Maybe she could fire off a spell at him before he could kill her. He leaned down to pick up the scroll.

As soon as his hand grasped it, it began to glow from the amount of chakra he poured into it. Again, the chakra's intensity overwhelmed her senses. Her head began to pound, and it was all she could do to stay conscious. She realized that she probably sustained a concussion during the explosion. She shielded her eyes, squinting at the white light the scroll was now emitting.

It was impossible; he couldn't activate it through sheer power. But no sooner than she thought this than something shifted in the space around her. She couldn't tell what it was; it didn't feel like chakra, but something definitely changed. Making a split-second decision, without really contemplating the consequences, she lunged forward and grasped her attacker's ankle.

Two seconds later, they both disappeared entirely.

The portkey was activated.

0-o-0

That's how I became trapped in the wizarding world, a place that just hours before the death of my squad I was sure I would never see again. I have the scroll that brought me and that monster here. I am in constant hiding from him. I would burn the scroll, but it is also my only link to my home, and to you. I am too selfish to destroy it. But I will do so if I am faced with imminent death, as any shinobi would.

I have written this story dozens of times, and I will write it dozens more to keep the truth ingrained in my memory. Hopefully, should I die, this account will preserve the truth. I have not contacted any of our friends here because I am afraid I would put them and their families in danger. Even they would be no match for him, though I have heard so many tales of their bravery. They defeated the Dark Lord, but this man is in an entirely different category of strength and evil. He has started to gather some followers, those that do not understand his power, themselves only possessing half of the ingredients to that power. He has the most volatile chakra that I have ever seen. Any wizard that goes up against him will almost certainly be killed.

On another note, I happened to see a calendar in a store window the other day as I was passing through a small town. I had noticed that it was beginning to get colder again, but gave no thought as to what the actual month was. It just so happens that on the day I am writing this, you turn 26 years old. Though you will almost certainly never read this, I feel obligated to say it anyway. Happy birthday, Kakashi. Wherever you are, I hope you're happy.

To anyone who may be reading this, I only know the man hunting me as Rokuro. He is a powerful shinobi, and a ruthless killer. For almost the last eight years I have been trying to find a way to take him down, and I have failed. But I'm not dead yet.

My name is Rin Hayata. I am a Konoha shinobi. The man chasing me will never stop looking for me until he finds the portkey in my possession, the only connection to our world. I know I'm the only one that can stop him, but I am not strong enough. I'm still not strong enough. So I run, and I'll keep running, and he will _never_ find his way back to Konoha.

I swear it on my life.

0-o-0

**Thank you for reading; I would appreciate it if you leave your thoughts, questions, concerns, etc in a review. Suggestions are always welcome too; tell me what you'd like to see in the story! It all helps me continue with the plot. Next chapter: Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke enter into our tale.**


	2. Chapter 1

**So if you remember, I started Worlds Apart with a letter as well. What can I say, I'm not one for change. Anywho, it's the official first chapter! Enjoy.**

0-o-0

Chapter 1: Another Letter

0-o-0

In the early hours of the morning, as the sun was just waking and stretching across the sky, the Hokage's desk was empty. No wizened old man sat behind it, reviewing mission requests or discussing important village matters with trusted confidants. Neat folders of papers and stacks of scrolls were placed in its drawers, but its surface was clear. The hardwood gleamed in the morning light.

The desk had seen many dangerous or strange requests submitted on its surface throughout its time. Sometimes, they were even dangerous _and_ strange. But they were always submitted in person, or by scroll. They never simply _appeared._ That was, until that morning.

Hours before anyone entered the office to begin the day's work, a rectangular letter materialized on the Hokage's desk. There was no address written on the front, only a wax seal on the back imprinted with a tiny coat of arms and six tiny words surrounding it:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

0-o-0

"Kakashi-sensei, this is _boring_."

Naruto Uzumaki whined about the training exercise he and his teammates were in the process of completing. It was not the first time he had done so. Said teammates were beginning to get annoyed.

"Please, Naruto, _shut up,_" Sakura Haruno had resorted to pleading with the usually easy-going ninja, but she had a look in her eye that warned him that if he didn't cooperate, there would be some severe beating in his immediate future. The only reason she hadn't already hit him was that she would be breaking the rules that their sensei had laid out for them: sit still, close your eyes, and clear your mind.

She sat on Naruto's left, to his right sat Sasuke Uchiha, who was attempting to ignore the discussion/argument completely, sitting in the perfect image of meditation with his eyes closed, but every so often one of his eyebrows would twitch in irritation.

Squad seven sat in the shade of a large tree in their designated training area. Summer was fast approaching Konoha, and the temperature increased with each passing day. There had been a recent lull in mission requests as of late, so the team had been mostly training for the past several weeks. Naruto squirmed in his position; he wanted something "more important" to do than boring training.

"Quiet Naruto; this is important," Kakashi Hatake lazily flipped a page of his book, seeing his student's expression. "If you are ever interrogated by an enemy, you have to be able to defend your consciousness. The best way to do that is to put up defenses around your mind, and the only way to do that is to first clear it of any thoughts. And if you don't start putting effort into this training, I'd say Sasuke will be able to see everything in your head before you can say occlumency."

The blonde ninja screwed up his face in concentration after this announcement but seconds later replaced the determination with confusion. He opened one eye and squinted at his sensei.

"Ock-loo-what?" Kakashi's other two pupils also opened their eyes, waiting to hear the answer.

Kakashi sighed, closing his book, "Nevermind. We're moving on. Combat practice." Naruto noticeably brightened at the prospect, while Sakura frowned. Sasuke was still eyeing his sensei curiously.

"One on one battles, same as yesterday," Kakashi stood from his regrettably comfortable position leaning against the giant tree, "Close quarters taijutsu only, no ninja tools or ninjutsu. Five minutes, then swap out. Naruto and Sasuke first."

"I'm gonna beat you for sure this time Sasuke!" taunted Naruto as he straightened his headband.

"In your dreams, idiot," Sasuke replied. It was the most he had said all day.

Sakura maintained her worried expression as both boys raced out from the shade of the tree and into the open field. Kakashi stepped forward to stand beside his pink-haired pupil.

"I noticed a distinct improvement in your timing yesterday," he said offhandedly.

"Really?" she asked, a distinct hopefulness sparkling in her tone as she nervously pushed a strand of hair behind one of her ears.

"Yep," he replied assuredly, "...You're just as good as they are, Sakura. You just have to know it."

He could practically see the wheels turning in her brain as she mulled over this statement. He gave her a small encouraging smile and she returned it brightly before returning to watch Naruto and Sasuke.

Kakashi felt a presence behind him and turned to find a masked ANBU member kneeling before him.

"Yes?" asked the silver-haired ninja.

"The Hokage wishes to speak with you immediately. Alone," the elite ninja informed him.

Kakashi nodded, refraining from asking any questions in front of Sakura. "Sure." He had no doubt all would be explained to him when he arrived in the Hokage's office. The ANBU disappeared. Sakura looked at Kakashi questioningly. He just shrugged.

"Make sure they don't kill each other," he inclined his head toward Naruto and Sasuke, before disappearing in a swirl of green leaves.

0-o-0

He knocked on the door to the Hokage's office three times.

"Enter."

He quietly opened the door, entered the room, and closed it again behind him. The Third sat facing the windows behind his desk. Generally, if the higher-ups wanted him, it was for some S-rank mission that the village couldn't afford to fail, a mission that required the Sharingan. As such, as soon as he walked in the room, he was briefed and sent on his merry way. But this time, the village leader seemed to be deep in thought. It was... unsettling. But by the time he reached the desk, both hands were returned to his pockets, and he retained the image of calm.

"You wanted to see me sir?" he asked placidly.

"Kakashi..." still the elder shinobi didn't turn to face him. "How long has it been... since you practiced magic?"

It was an interesting way to begin the conversation, and it took Kakashi a moment to comprehend the question. He hadn't discussed his involvement in the wizarding world for ten years... It felt wrong to be talking about it so openly after all this time. He forced the words from his mouth.

"A long time," he replied.

Technically, it was six months ago, when he had rediscovered his wand and performed the _Lumos_ charm. But he wasn't lying, six months was a long time ago. Technically.

The Hokage finally turned around in his chair to face him; Kakashi immediately felt the sternness of his gaze. Whenever he looked really serious, Kakashi always had the uncomfortable feeling that the leader could see straight through his mask, to his thoughts, though his rational mind knew that he possessed neither mind-reading jutsu nor legillimency skills. The Hokage held a letter in his hands.

Not a scroll, a letter. They didn't use letters.

But Kakashi knew some people who did.

The Hokage handed the letter to him wordlessly. After noting that there was no address written on the front, or any indication as to who the letter was directed to, he flipped it over to open it. His eye only glanced over the blood red seal bearing the Hogwarts crest. He removed the tri-folded parchment inside and began to read:

_Sarutobi, or the current Hokage of the Leaf Village,_

_After you have been so generous with your help in our time of need, I regret to ask for it again. Truly, I am sorry to have to involve you in this crisis._

_If you have received this letter, it will mean that the Wizarding World is in great peril. It will probably mean that Harry Potter was not able to defeat Lord Voldemort. Harry is the greatest hope we have, and though I have every confidence in his abilities, and in his heart, I have never claimed to know conclusively how the battle would end. _

_As such, if Lord Voldemort is not defeated by Harry Potter, there remain very few choices the good people of the Wizarding World have left. I believe if Harry cannot do it, there may be others, others that Lord Voldemort disregarded as weak long ago. They are you, the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. _

_This letter is a Portkey, a transporter that will take whoever holds it to Hogwarts in three days time. _

_I know of two in particular that protected Hogwarts in the past, and if they or any others can step up to the task, then maybe all hope is not lost. Maybe they can end the fighting. Maybe this world still has a chance to live again._

_For if he gains control, we will not live under his reign. We will only die a little every day, until such a time that our souls can move on to a better place. _

_I have long stood by the statement that help will always come to those who ask for it. I am pleading for it. You are truly our last hope._

_Sarutobi, old friend, I am afraid my time here is short. I am in the process of giving Harry all the information I can about Lord Voldemort and how to defeat him, but I do not believe I will be there to see the final confrontation. This will be my last letter to you. I thank you for your friendship over these many years, and for your service to the Wizarding World. _

_Farewell,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Kakashi finished reading but stared for a moment at the words themselves. They were written in faded green ink, as though they had been penned many years ago and forgotten about. He looked at the signature. Albus Dumbledore. Most had said that he was the greatest headmaster Hogwarts had ever seen. He could sometimes still hear the kindly chuckle from the elder wizard that followed him through the Portkey the day they left Hogwarts. It was strange to think that such a formidable man was now probably deceased. He slowly lowered the letter and placed it on the desk before him.

The message contained much more pressing matters than the impending demise of Albus Dumbledore.

"It seems to me that this letter was written some time ago," Kakashi thought out loud, choosing to work up to the most important issue at hand.

"Yes, I believe it was," the hokage replied, now staring at the parchment himself over folded hands.

Kakashi didn't know how to approach such a subject delicately, so he asked bluntly.

"Do you know if the war has ended? Did Potter kill Voldemort?" He was surprised at the obvious tension and even slight fear in his own voice.

The Hokage continued his silence for a moment. Then, "...Yes, he and his organization were destroyed."

Kakashi let out a relieved breath slowly.

"I was contacted two years after your mission was completed by a Professor Minerva McGonagall. She informed me that the war was over and that Voldemort had been defeated by Harry Potter... He even managed to keep his own life."

This revelation bolstered Kakashi's spirits even more. His mind quickly jumped back to the letter.

"Then—" Kakashi began.

"—Why the letter?" the Hokage completed, "Exactly... I have been thinking about it all morning, and I cannot come up with a concrete answer."

"Is it possible that he's returned?"

"Voldemort?" Sarutobi said with raised eyebrows, "No. The Professor was quite clear. There is no chance of him returning, not this time."

Kakashi was silent. It was good news, but it didn't make him any less confused. Why was a letter written nearly a decade ago, a letter that was never meant to be sent, sitting on the Hokage's desk? Was it code of some sort? Had Harry gotten himself mixed up in some other trouble? He resisted rolling his eyes. It wouldn't be the first time.

"The only logical explanation that I can come up with," the Hokage continued, "is that the letter was sent by mistake."

Kakashi asked the obvious question, "How?"

The Hokage leaned back in his chair, "Knowing Albus, he somehow charmed the letter to appear on my desk if things had not turned out as he planned."

"I don't understand—"

"You can ask the current headmistress yourself when you arrive in three days." Sarutobi cut him off.

Kakashi was at a loss for words for a moment. "...I'm...going back?"

"You and your squad will depart to the Wizarding World by this Portkey in three days. It may be old, but I assume the magic still holds. You will confirm that this is nothing more than an accident and return home. There are no time constraints for this mission, though I don't think you would need more than a few days to get to the bottom of this."

"Understood," Kakashi replied automatically.

"That is all."

Kakashi made his way to the door, but he stopped just before it. He wanted to know for certain.

"Sir?"

The Hokage turned back to the shinobi from his position looking out the window.

"Professor Dumbledore... He is dead then?" Kakashi asked.

Sarutobi nodded. "The year after your mission."

Kakashi was more than a little shocked. It was that long ago.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Kakashi stated without thinking.

"His death is a loss to the Wizarding World. But judging by this letter," he lifted the parchment from his desk, glancing at the faded green ink, "his death was on his own terms. Albus Dumbledore was a man who knew full well that there are things far worse than death, and he did not fear it, nor was saddened by the prospect of his own passing. So neither am I. And neither should you be, Kakashi."

Kakashi only nodded once and left the office. He set down the hall deep in thought. So Dumbledore was dead. And if he had fallen that early, who knew how many others had been killed after him. Apparently Harry had survived, but what about Ron and Hermione? And Neville and Luna and the Weasleys? Had all the Death Eaters been wiped out? Surely not. Conversely, what about the Order? Lupin and Tonks and Kingsley and Mad-Eye? What about them?

His heart fell suddenly. Of course they would want to know what had happened to Rin. And he would tell them what he knew, but really what did he know? One day she was here, and the next she was gone. Presumed dead, KIA was the official statement. He began to dread the discussion.

And he had to drag his squad along with him.

They would want to know everything; he'd have to explain everything—about magic, about the war, about Hogwarts, about his mission. He sighed as he headed back to the training fields, already formulating responses to the obvious questions. He was reminded of one of the more cryptic answers his sensei gave him when he asked about magic.

"_There's more than one kind of magic, Kakashi..."_

0-o-0

**Thanks for reading. Questions, comments, concerns, exclamations, nargles? I think nargles are defined as creatures that make your brain fuzzy... so it actually makes sense. Is there anything about this so far that's making your brain fuzzy? I hope not.**


	3. Chapter 2

**I actually don't have anything to say at the moment. Enjoy!**

0-o-0

Chapter 2: Once a Gryffindor, Always a Gryffindor

0-o-0

Kakashi stood before his three bewildered students, who were all, for once, completely silent. They all looked at him with mixed expressions of confusion, amusement, and suspicion. Finally, Sakura spoke up.

"Is this a trick question?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, it's not a trick question. I want an honest answer. Do you believe in magic?" When he was still not answered, he addressed the student furthest to the right.

"Sasuke?"

The Uchiha was still clearly suspicious, he eyed his sensei carefully as if he might burst out laughing at any moment and tell them what fools they were.

"No," he said flatly.

Kakashi figured as much. He moved on to the opposite end of the line.

"Sakura?"

"Well," she began slowly, rubbing her hands together, a nervous habit Kakashi had picked up on, "I guess it depends what you mean by magic." He didn't miss the surreptitious glance at Sasuke. Also as expected. Finally, he addressed the last student, in between Sasuke and Sakura.

"And Naruto?"

The blonde ninja looked surprisingly thoughtful with his arms crossed. Suddenly, he looked directly at Kakashi, as though he had just come to a great conclusion.

"You mean like wizards?" he asked curiously.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Yeah, actually, that's exactly what I mean."

Naruto only shrugged, "I don't know. But why do we need magic if we have chakra? Chakra's better, right?"

Kakashi couldn't help but smile a little. That was basically what he had thought.

"Not necessarily," he replied.

Sasuke and Sakura looked like they were seriously beginning to doubt their sensei's mental health. Kakashi quickly began to explain about his mission to the Wizarding World, wands, Hogwarts, the war, and how magic related to chakra. By the end of his explanation, Naruto was the only one who looked convinced.

"Makes sense to me," he proclaimed agreeably, nodding.

"Then you're the only one," Sakura said dryly. Then, more politely, "Why are you telling us this, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Because," he answered casually, "We'll all be going to the Wizarding World in three days time. Less than three days, actually. This is that important mission you've been wanting, Naruto."

Naruto did a fist pump, "Alright!"

"What's the mission?" Sasuke asked, glancing sideways at Naruto.

"The Hokage received a message from the Wizarding World. After consulting with me, we agreed that the message must have been sent by mistake, but it needs to be investigated none-the-less. It's a simple reconnaissance mission, nothing more. We should return within a few days, if not less. But you must understand; this is top secret. Now that I've read you in, you will tell no one. Got it?" He eyed Naruto particularly, and the normally hyperactive ninja became serious.

"Yes sir," all three students responded.

But Kakashi could see that Sasuke and Sakura were still unsure. He was glad they were learning to question things more, even things that he told them.

"I suppose I'll have to prove it to you," he said calmly.

He pulled out his wand from his kunai holster. Mahogany, sixteen inches, dragon heartstring core, he recalled. "This is my wand," he told his team.

They all looked at it, distinctly unimpressed. Kakashi pondered for a moment on what spell he should attempt.

"Naruto, step back a few feet," Kakashi ordered.

Naruto looked a little nervous, but did as he was told anyway. Kakashi pointed his wand at him. Naruto tensed to prepare for something that he thought he would be able to dodge. Kakashi concentrated, remembering the instructions for the charm.

_Swish and flick._

"_Wingardium leviosa,_" he intoned clearly, accompanying the incantation with the proper movements.

With a yelp, Naruto began to slowly levitate off the ground, seemingly resting on a cushion of air. Beside Kakashi, Sakura's mouth fell open. Sasuke stared at his floating teammate as he continued to rise into the air. Four feet, five feet...

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei! Can you put me back down now?" Naruto was beginning to panic slightly at the lack of control over his body.

Kakashi carefully lowered his student until he was laying face down a foot above the green grass. With another flick of his wand, Kakashi released the spell, and Naruto fell haphazardly.

"Oof," the air in his lungs was expelled as he hit the ground, "What'd you have to use me for Kakashi-sensei? I already said I believed you!" Naruto immediately began complaining.

"Exactly," Kakashi replied and quickly moved on, "So two days from today, we will meet at the Hokage's office at midnight. You absolutely cannot be late."

All three students gave him pointed looks. _He_ was usually the late one. But he would have to make an exception for this particular mission.

It was the second-chance of a lifetime.

0-o-0

"Well, I'm going back."

Kakashi stood before the stone memorial in the dark. If he looked up, he would see a few stars peeping through rolling clouds. But he kept his eye trained on the stone, at the name he couldn't actually see in the darkness but knew exactly where it was engraved.

"You would've liked Hogwarts," he continued absently. "The staircases move, and the portraits talk to you." He smiled briefly, "The sorting hat probably would have proclaimed you a Gryffindor before you even set foot in the castle..." He fell silent.

Truthfully, he was grateful to be returning to the Wizarding World. But it also made him sad; protecting Hogwarts was the last mission he had been on with Rin. Almost as soon as he came back, he was sent out again on another mission. She was training all the time, and still working at the hospital when she could. So for a while, they barely saw each other. Then the Nine-Tails attacked the Leaf, their sensei died to save the village, and suddenly, she was the only one he had left.

He had been trying to think of what to say to his friends when they inevitably asked about her. Two days of thinking and he had nothing. He supposed he would figure it out when the time came. He pushed the thought out of his head and tried to think about seeing Hogwarts again.

"See you in a few days," he turned from the memorial and started towards the Hokage's office.

0-o-0

Kakashi quietly opened the wooden door and stepped inside the office. He was glad to find all three of his students standing before the desk with their backpacks. A lone lamp cast their shadows across the floor.

"What?" he self-consciously tugged his mask up, shouldering his own pack simultaneously. They were all staring at him in mild amazement.

"Um," Sakura was the first to recover the power of speech, "You're early."

Kakashi glanced at the clock on the wall to his left. It was five minutes to midnight.

"I told you it was important, didn't I?" he addressed all three of them as he approached the desk.

"How come we're meeting here anyway?" Naruto asked loudly. "And why so late? This better be a really cool super secret mission, Kakashi-sensei." He yawned dramatically. Sasuke whacked him on the back of the head.

"What the—Sasuke!"

"Shut up, idiot," the Uchiha replied monotonously.

"You-," Naruto began, but Kakashi cut him off.

"Sasuke's right, Naruto. We can't have the whole village hearing us."

Naruto only crossed his arms and shot a glare at Sasuke, who didn't seem to take notice.

"But sensei," Sakura said quietly, "Why _are_ we here? Shouldn't we be meeting at the gates? We are leaving Konoha, right?"

"Yes," answered Kakashi patiently, walking around them behind the desk, "But we are traveling by different means."

He tugged the envelope out from beneath a stack of scrolls on the right side of the desk, exactly where the Hokage said he had placed it. He removed the letter from the envelope and opened it. The green ink shimmered in the light. He put the envelope back where he had found it and took the letter to his students. Naruto and Sakura looked eager to see the writing on the letter, but Kakashi turned it over so that they couldn't read it.

He held it out in front of them, still face down. "Grab hold."

"Why?" Naruto immediately asked.

"Just do it, I'll explain once you do."

Once all four of them were holding onto the letter, Kakashi began to explain.

"This is letter is a Portkey. At a certain time, it will activate and take us to the Wizarding World. It states in this letter that the holders will be transported exactly three days since the letter arrived." Seeing his students' confused looks, he elaborated. "It's kind of like how a summoning jutsu works. The person who sent this letter will activate it so that the "jutsu" will summon us to the Wizarding World."

"Huh?" Naruto immediately asked, but Sakura and Sasuke appeared thoughtful.

"Well, what time?" Sakura asked after a moment, "What time did the letter arrive?"

Kakashi shrugged, "I don't know. Any time from now, when the Hokage left his office, until six in the morning, when he returned."

"Wh—What?" Naruto spluttered, "You mean we might be waiting here for _six hours_?"

Another shrug, "It's possible."

But no sooner had he said the words than the office around him began to spin into darkness. His feet were lifted from the ground and he fell, head first, into nothingness. He kept spinning, faster and faster, and just when he was beginning to think something was wrong, he collided roughly with something very solid.

He dimly heard a startled cry come from somewhere behind him, but his surroundings hadn't quite stopped spinning yet. As his vision returned, he saw Naruto's spiky, blonde head move in front of him as he tried to push himself up. To his right and left respectively, Sakura was also picking herself up, while Sasuke was sitting and gripping his shoulder. He must have landed on it, Kakashi thought as he stood.

He was in a surprisingly familiar location. To his left, portraits lined the wall; some who had been woken by their arrival had begun muttering complaints. All sorts of instruments and strange objects were scattered throughout the room around him. In front of him was a large door, outside of which Kakashi knew was a large gargoyle that protected the office.

Kakashi suddenly became aware of the light that was dimly illuminating the room. It was coming from behind him. He turned around slowly.

Recognition seemed to dawn on the person standing behind the desk. She slowly lowered her wand. Her face had a few more lines, but the gaze was as sharp as ever.

"...Hatake?" the headmistress asked hesitantly.

Kakashi didn't realize he was smiling until he spoke.

"Nice to see you too, Professor McGonagall."

0-o-0

After reading the letter for the second time, the headmistress looked up at her former student pensively from her desk. He stood in front of it while his students fidgeted behind him. She removed her glasses with a tired sigh.

"You are correct; the war ended years ago," she said, "There is no cause to send this letter. I did not send it, at least not intentionally," She inspected the room around them not without an air of curiosity. A ghost of a smile traced her lips. "But this room... I still haven't discovered all of its secrets, some of which I have no doubt Professor Dumbledore used to his advantage... or created," she added as an afterthought.

She glanced down at the faded green ink once more. "I did not know that he and your Hokage were such good friends."

"Neither did I," Kakashi replied.

Naruto chose this moment to poke his spiky head out from behind Kakashi.

"Who're you?" he asked McGonagall, half-curiously, half-impetuously.

The headmistress raised a slim eyebrow. "I am Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And who might you be?"

Naruto grinned, apparently forgetting all of his previous complaints about the late hour, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village—"

"And this is Sakura Haruno," the pink-haired kunoichi gave a slight smile and bow as Kakashi hurriedly introduced her to cut off Naruto's ranting, "And Sasuke Uchiha." The later only nodded once, keeping his customary silence. "They are my students."

Professor McGonagall nodded as the ghost smile returned, "I see." She folded the letter and placed it on the desk. "If you don't mind, I'd like to keep this and review it in the morning. Perhaps with some rest I will be able to remember something I overlooked. Meanwhile, I suggest you and your team also rest up. Do you remember how to get to the Gryffindor common room?"

"...Yes," Kakashi replied after a moment.

"Very well. Our students only left two days ago; the password has not been changed. Nosebleed Nougat. Return to my office tomorrow morning at eight-o'-clock."

Kakashi remembered the twins trying to feed him some of their sweets when he first met them. He was very glad later that he had not accepted when he found out what they were. He wondered what crazy concoctions they had come up with since. He wondered what everyone had been doing since he left. He itched to ask more questions about them, but held his tongue. There was a time and a place for that, and it wasn't just then.

"Understood," was his only answer before turning around. As soon as he saw Naruto looking around curiously at the office's magical instruments, he put a hand on the young ninja's head and steered him directly toward the door, despite his meager protests.

As his three students walked through the door before him, McGonagall addressed Kakashi again.

"It's good to see you, Kakashi," the headmistress said kindly.

Kakashi was momentarily caught off guard by this sentiment, but quickly nodded in reply.

"Good to see you too, Professor."

0-o-0

Naruto quickly took interest in the moving pictures and paintings lining the walls of the castle and the moving staircases. It took Kakashi some walking around to remember exactly what passages to take to get to the common room, but it wasn't long before they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She was sleeping soundly when they approached. He tapped the side of the frame a few times. She instantly stopped snoring and stood up from the wall she was leaning against.

"Er, sorry to wake you, Professor McGonagall sent us," Kakashi apologized and deflected the blame away from him simultaneously, "Nosebleed Nougat."

"Oh, yes, yes of course," she yawned widely and the portrait swung wide. Kakashi glanced behind him before he walked through the hole in the wall, seeing curiosity and at least a little astonishment on each of their faces.

"In here," he waved them in and they dutifully followed him into the common room.

A low fire lit the hearth, casting a warm glow on the walls. The first thing Kakashi noticed was that everything seemed to be exactly the same as when he had left. The high-backed chairs by the fire, the tables that would usually be littered with books and parchment, the split staircase that led to the boys and girls dormitories: it was all unchanged. He suddenly felt fifteen years old again, more than a little angry at the world and impatient with just about everything. Especially Harry Potter.

The feeling quickly left him as his students began exploring the inviting room. Kakashi went to the fire and threw another log on it, and before long it grew stronger. As he looked into the flames contemplatively, Naruto flopped into the armchair behind him, the same one he had favored lounging about in on occasion.

"We're sleeping here?" Naruto asked, stretching.

"No," Kakashi replied before Naruto had a chance to get comfortable. "Upstairs."

Naruto hauled himself up with a slight groan and trudged to the stairs with Sasuke and Sakura. Once they reached the fork, Kakashi directed Sakura to the right, the girls' dorm, while he and the boys took the left. Sakura seemed quite happy with this decision. Naruto snored.

0-o-0

The boys' dormitory was unchanged as well. It was close but comfortable and blessedly dark and quiet. Kakashi couldn't help but remember all the nights he spent in the tower, restful or otherwise. He idly wondered if they would eat breakfast in the Great Hall the following morning.

Kakashi took off his vest, sandals, and headband and flopped down on his old four-poster without another thought. In the bed to his right, Naruto was already sound asleep.

The last thing Kakashi saw before he drifted off was a silver half-moon out the tower window.

0-o-0

**Thanks for reading. Review if you please. **


	4. Chapter 3

**I'll talk to you more at the end of this. You should know that due to the fact that I wanted to get this out as quickly as possible, it isn't beta'd this time. At least my grammar should be okay. For now, enjoy!**

0-o-0

Chapter 3: Old Friends, New Faces

0-o-0

It felt as though he was asleep for no longer than a second before his internal clock awoke him at seven the next morning. He was encased in sunlight and didn't want to move, but knew he would suffer McGonagall's judgment if he was late. So painstakingly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and surveyed his surroundings.

To his right, Naruto continued on snoring, oblivious to the new day. His limbs were sprawled on the bed haphazardly, yet he was so peaceful and more importantly, quiet. Kakashi regretted having to wake him. In the next four-poster beyond Naruto, Sasuke sat up in his own bed, examining the contents of his kunai holster. The Uchiha glanced at Kakashi by way of greeting.

"Would you like the honors?" Kakashi asked, gesturing towards Naruto.

Sasuke raised a dark eyebrow. "Not particularly."

Kakashi shrugged and grabbed his pillow, holding it over his head and taking aim at his student.

0-o-0

Sakura paused on the staircase leading down into the common room. She looked at the door to the boys' dorm, wondering if Sasuke was awake yet.

"Kakashi-sensei! What the heck was that for?" Naruto's voice traveled through the door. "Jeez!" Sasuke was certainly awake now, if he wasn't already. Naruto had only one volume level: loud.

Sakura shook her head and continued into the common room. Boys.

0-o-0

At precisely eight-o'-clock, Kakashi knocked on the door to the headmistress's office, feeling a very strange sense of déjà vu. He suspected that would be occurring a lot in the next few days.

"Enter," the voice from within called to them.

He did as he was told, and his team trailed in after him. The office looked much warmer in the morning light, and Kakashi noticed that though the office remained much the same, it had a sense of orderliness to it, which was noticeably absent when Professor Dumbledore occupied the space. He also became aware of the large portrait of the deceased headmaster behind the desk; he had not seen it in the near dark the night before. Resting his head on his hand, Dumbledore appeared to be snoozing comfortably in his high-backed, somewhat regal looking chair. Kakashi couldn't help but stare for a moment before addressing McGonagall.

"Have you had a chance to consider the letter, Professor?" Kakashi got straight to the point.

"Direct as always I see," Professor McGonagall remarked before answering, "I'm afraid I still have not thought of a possible reason as to how it was sent to you," she removed her glasses before picking up the letter from her desk once more. She turned it over and gazed at it for a moment, but appeared to be unsatisfied with the page. "In any case," she directed her attention to Kakashi, "I expect you'll want to talk to Mr. Potter?"

"Oh," though Kakashi had known the topic would come up eventually, he wasn't sure how he wanted to approach Harry. Though he considered him to be a friend, it had been nearly ten years, and he wasn't sure how he would be received. Would he be considered a reminder of things better left buried? And it certainly wasn't like he and Harry had been on agreeable terms all the time. In fact, hadn't been on agreeable terms _most_ of the time.

"He is an Auror now with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," McGonagall elaborated, sensing his indecision; "He has access to far more resources than I, and may be able to help you find a more agreeable answer."

"Of course..." Kakashi nodded, "How is Harry?" he asked casually.

"Very well, last I heard," McGonagall replied, "He and Ginny Weasley have been married for three years; they have one son and another on the way."

Kakashi's eyebrows shot up, "Really? Hm." Just what the world needed, two more Potters. Kakashi couldn't help but smile.

"I'll send him a message then to let him know of your arrival. I'm sure tonight would be fine." McGonagall rose from her desk, "But for now, I suggest we go down to the Great Hall for some breakfast."

On cue, Naruto's stomach grumbled loudly.

"Sounds delicious," Kakashi agreed.

He didn't see the portrait version of Dumbledore open one eye and peak at him with a slight smile as they left the room.

0-o-0

The first thing Kakashi noticed about the Great Hall was that it was emptier than he had ever seen it. The four long House tables were completely devoid of students, only the front table held an assembly of teachers, many of whom he did not recognize. Professor McGonagall announced their presence in a thankfully vague way, saying that they were simply visitors to the school from overseas. Though the unfamiliar teachers looked curious at their appearance, they did not question the headmistress. Kakashi was greeted with an enthusiastic handshake from Professor Flitwick, who was as short as ever, and stood on top of his chair to reach him. Kakashi also recognized Professor Sprout, who waved at him congenially, and Professor Trelawney, who seemed to quite enjoy staring at him.

Professor McGonagall waved her wand and four more plates and glasses appeared along the table. Naruto was the quickest to sit down and gave McGonagall a quick word of thanks before helping himself to the breakfast feast laid out at the table. In between mouthfuls, he asked questions allowed about Hogwarts, and the food, and anything that popped into his head. The teachers were happy to answer and do what they do best, explaining things far better than Kakashi could have. After a few questions, Sakura joined in too, asking about the moving paintings and staircases, the Houses, the students of Hogwarts. Even Sasuke ventured a question after a while.

"Wizards use their wands as weapons, correct?" the Uchiha ventured.

"When it is needed," the headmistress answered in a measured tone.

"How?" Sasuke asked simply.

Kakashi suddenly regretted not informing his students more on the exact protocols of wizard warfare.

"Perhaps our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor could answer that?" McGonagall nodded towards a younger man sitting a few seats down from her. He had short brown hair with a tinge of grey and wore rectangular eyeglasses. "Professor Flynn has been teaching here for nearly ten years now." She added, more to Kakashi than his students. Kakashi chewed slowly as he mulled over this statement. Ten years. Hogwarts had been able to keep a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for ten years… after Voldemort was destroyed. He knew for a fact that no one had lasted more than a year in the slot prior to the Dark Lord's downfall.

The DADA professor spoke with a slight Irish accent, "There are several different categories of magic that a wizard can produce: curses, three in particular known as Unforgivable, which have been used the most in Wizard battles in the past…"

Kakashi noticed several of the professors, including the headmistress, seemed to be suddenly very interested in their breakfast. He knew they were trying to block out memories of the recent war. He only dimly heard footsteps come walk down the Hall from the huge golden doors.

"Another category is comprised of jinxes, which can be troublesome but are generally not lethal—"

"Blimey, Kakashi, is that you?" asked a gruff, but friendly, voice from behind Kakashi.

Kakashi turned around to find a half-giant strolling up to him, beaming in surprise. His face had a few more lines than Kakashi remembered, but other than that, he was exactly the same.

"Hagrid!" Kakashi greeted.

"Is it really him?" another voice asked, seemingly from behind Hagrid.

"Well sure it is; know anyone else who walks around here dressed like that?" Hagrid said, turning sideways to let the man through.

"How've you been, Kakashi?" asked the tall, brown haired man. Kakashi had to look at first, but he soon recognized the face.

Walking towards him was none other than Neville Longbottom.

0-o-0

"I'm assistant teacher to Professor Sprout," Neville explained between mouthfuls of scrambled eggs, "Someday I'll take over as Herbology Professor."

"Bein' modest, he is," Hagrid smiled, "Neville's nearly a'ready passed Professor Sprout. He could be teachin' now, 'f he wanted. No doubt Head of Gryffindor someday too, I 'spect."

"That's great, Neville," Kakashi said genuinely.

"Yeah," he shrugged modestly, "But you beat me to it, I guess." He gestured towards his students, who were still listening to Professor Flynn's explanation of the Dark Arts. "Never would've guessed, knowing you. But you like it alright?"

What a question, Kakashi thought. "Yeah, it has its moments. But you're done for the year, right? What are you doing for the summer?" He diverted the conversation away from himself.

"Oh," Neville seemed a little unsure how to answer this question, "I'm going to see Luna in a few days actually." He blushed slightly, "We're doing a bit of traveling. She's really excited to see salt-water plimpies."

Kakashi fought to stifle a chuckle. Luna Lovegood. He'd always liked her, as eccentric as she was. "You'll have to tell her I say hello," Kakashi said, "And good luck with the plimpies."

Neville did chuckle this time, "I will... How long are you here for this time?"

"Not sure," Kakashi answered truthfully. He told Neville about the letter. "We're going to see Harry tonight."

"Excellent," Neville said, "I can apparate you if you like. Actually, you'll probably have to Floo with that lot," he inclined his head toward Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. "Either way, I haven't seen Harry and Ginny in ages. Are Ron and Hermione coming too?"

"Well, it's not quite set in stone yet," Kakashi said, "McGonagall just told me she would contact Harry an hour ago."

"Oh," Neville seemed slightly embarrassed, "Getting ahead of myself I guess. Suppose I'm a bit excited about being on vacation." He grinned, setting down his fork and sighing. "But somehow I never get tired of the food here."

Kakashi couldn't believe the man sitting before him was the awkward teen he had left behind. He wondered if he came into the maturity naturally, or if the war had sped the process. Either way, this confident Neville Longbottom had come a long way.

"What about you Hagrid?" Kakashi asked. "Still teaching?"

"Oh, me? I'm teachin' the advanced Care o' Magical Creatures class now," he stated proudly, "Professor McGonagall was nice enough to make the post 'specially for me. On'y one class, but very dedicated students."

Kakashi inwardly chuckled. Undoubtedly, McGonagall created the position so that Hagrid wouldn't scare the pants off of any first years who may have been confronted with hippogriffs on their first day otherwise. Neville took up the conversation again.

"Hey, Rin's not with you," Neville suddenly noticed, "Was she too busy to come?"

Before Kakashi had time to think of a lie, their plates were wiped clean and McGonagall was walking behind him. Kakashi stood from the table as well.

"You are free to do as you like for the afternoon," the headmistress informed him. "But I would suggest you stay away from the Forest. The centaurs are especially territorial this time of year."

"Yes, Professor," Kakashi agreed, smirking behind the safety of his mask. He remembered all too well how dangerous the Forest could be. If it hadn't been for Rin—

He remembered Neville and turned back to the table. The assistant professor was nodding to Professor Sprout.

"I've got to go make one last sweep of the greenhouses. Meet you in McGonagall's office later?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, sure."

Neville gave a short wave and hustled to a side door that the teachers entered the Great Hall through.

"Come on," Kakashi told his team, looking up at the enchanted ceiling. They followed his gaze. The sky was a clear blue; one lazy cloud floated in a corner of the scene. Perfect conditions. With a stroke of inspiration, Kakashi suddenly turned back to look at the half-giant behind him.

"Hagrid, do you have access to the Quidditch supplies?"

Hagrid raised his eyebrows in surprise as he stood from the table, "Well, sure, but wha' do ya need 'em for?"

Kakashi turned his attention to his students mischieviously. Naruto noticeably shied away from him.

"A training exercise," Kakashi answered nonchalantly.

0-o-0

Kakashi stood in the middle of the school Quidditch field, a large chest beside him, which was quivering slightly, and his students in front of him, all eyeing the chest suspiciously.

"This exercise is designed to increase your stamina," Kakashi began to explain. He unlatched the chest and it opened, revealing a large reddish ball in the middle and two struggling metal spheres strapped down on either side of it. "We will be using these two." He tapped a Bludger and it gave a violent shudder. "They are programmed to chase you down and can be lethal. I give you permission to use whatever means necessary to avoid them. The entire field and stands are open to your use. Remember, you have to _work together_. Questions?"

Sakura immediately asked, "This is a wizard game?" She seemed momentarily at a loss for words, her face slowly turning into an expression of bafflement, "—Who _are_ these people?"

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle, "No, there's a bit more to it than what you'll be doing. We'll get into some of the other aspects later. Avoiding the Bludgers is only part of Quidditch."

He bent over the chest to release the squirming spheres.

"Scatter," he commanded and heard a collective whoosh as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura jumped back. He flipped the catches on the Bludgers, and they shot into the sky.

0-o-0

**I know; I've been neglecting you. I really am sorry. School has once again taken control of my life, but now that homecoming week is over, I will hopefully have a little bit more time on my hands for a while. Unfortunately, I do have to do a bit of planning to do now that I'm this far along in the story and more or less don't know how to proceed. Suggestions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for staying with me!**


	5. Chapter 4

**I'm a terrible person I know, but I have not dropped off the face of the earth. To make up for it a little, his one is a bit longer than my usual word count. I hope you enjoy!**

0-o-0

Chapter 4: Revelations

0-o-0

Kakashi once again led his students from the Great Hall. The training exercise had left its impact on the three genin, but it wasn't anything that Madam Pomfrey and a house-elf-made dinner hadn't been able to cure. Naruto still had a bump and a scratch over his right temple where the bludger managed to hit its target, but he was in cheerful spirits none-the-less. At the time, Kakashi had winced and then quickly had to cover a strong urge to laugh when the bludger struck his student. How was it that the kid could make concussion look comical?

Similar to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had a few cuts and bruises, but they had all improved with the training individually and as a team. Though they were progressing, they still had a lot to understand about each other. But they were a hell of a lot better than his team was after less than a year together.

Once again, they reached the stone gargoyle. It leaped aside without being asked and allowed them access to the spiraling stone staircase. They were quickly allowed entrance into the office.

"I trust everyone is in one piece?" McGonagall commented dryly as they entered. She had clearly found out about the training somehow.

"Yes, Professor," answered Kakashi as if he completely missed her tone, "Thanks to Madam Pomfrey."

It had not been the most pleasant experience walking into the hospital wing. Like nearly everything else at Hogwarts, it looked exactly the same, down to the brisk white sheets and the golden rays gleaming through the overhead windows. Kakashi couldn't help but remember a time when the beds were filled with the bodies of his friends. When Madam Pomfrey told him he could leave if he liked while she worked, he gratefully took the opportunity.

His feet took him upstairs, to the room where lost things went. And lost people, apparently.

He passed it thrice, and it revealed its giant doors to him, but he only stared at the handle. Some things were better left alone, he decided after a while, before heading back down to the infirmary. He caught the bottom corner of the doors disappearing into stone as he left.

"Harry says he would be happy to see you and your team, and you are welcome to spend the night," the professor informed him, bringing him out of his meanderings.

Kakashi nodded, "Good. That's good." At least, he hoped so. "Don't even think about it, Naruto."

The blonde ninja had been slowly making his way to Kakashi's right, towards a large bookcase with several strange looking instruments on it. Kakashi recognized a sneakoscope on the top shelf and idly thought of Mad-Eye. Naruto sheepishly made his way back to his other two teammates, who were standing nervously in the middle of the room, but they relaxed slightly when Naruto returned to stand between them.

But Kakashi was no longer paying attention. Just above the top shelf, the wall of portraits began. There was one there that happened to be eyeing Kakashi with particular disdain. Kakashi couldn't imagine how he had earned a place up there.

"Do you mind if I have a minute Professor?" Kakashi tore his eyes away from the portrait to the headmistress, who was hardly paying attention to him, looking over some documents at her desk. "Could you maybe show these three how Floo Powder works?"

She looked up at him, "Well, it isn't very difficult—" But she stopped when she saw what he was looking at. "…Oh, of course, I will show them." She beckoned the trio to the fireplace. They obeyed, but exchanged glances before doing so.

Kakashi looked back up at the portrait. He lowered his voice before addressing it.

"Snape."

The former-professor folded his hands as he met Kakashi's gaze.

"Hatake."

"You were the headmaster?" Kakashi immediately asked, already knowing the answer.

"Obviously," the portrait answered.

"Did you know—"

"I don't know anything about that letter; the headmistress already asked. Even Dumbledore wouldn't say anything, though that shouldn't come as a surprise," he answered briskly before Kakashi had a chance to finish the question. A familiar sense of annoyance crept into the shinobi's frame of mind.

"So," Kakashi said, trying to come up with a way to phrase his next inquiry.

"So…" Snape drew the word out slowly. "If that's all—"

"I must have been right about you," Kakashi interrupted this time. He only received a cold stare in return.

"Really?" Snape raised a dark eyebrow, "How so?"

But even as he asked, Kakashi could see that he already knew what he was talking about. It almost seemed as if he was weary of hearing it.

"You were on our side. You were good," Kakashi said simply.

Snape remained silent, looking not at Kakashi but towards the door, avoiding eye contact.

"So everyone says," he remarked quietly.

It couldn't be clearer to Kakashi that Snape did not share this view of his apparent goodness. Kakashi needed the full story. It was time to see Harry. He didn't say farewell as he retreated from the portrait wall.

0-o-0

"Everyone in one piece?"

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura stepped out of the ashes of the fireplace at what was apparently Harry and Ginny's home, though there was no sign of anyone in the small flat. Naruto sneezed a few times after brushing himself off, but quickly mumbled an affirmative to the question and began to take in his surroundings.

It was a small but comfortable family room that seemed to have a few pieces of furniture too many. Kakashi could picture his friends gathering here for dinner or birthday parties, talking and laughing while taking turns to chase little toddlers around. Seeing himself in that kind of setting was impossible, but it was easy to imagine other people with that ideal life.

"They should be here any minute," McGonagall assured him, who had come through the Network seconds before with Sasuke. "I'd best take my leave. I expect this won't be the last we see of each other for this trip, but it was good to see you." She patted Kakashi's shoulder kindly.

"Thank you, Professor," Kakashi nodded. She returned a smile before she turned on the spot and disappeared.

"Was that teleportation jutsu?" Sakura immediately asked, before either Sasuke or Naruto had a chance.

"Sort of," Kakashi replied after some thought, "The wizard's version at least. They call it Apparition."

"What're we supposed to do now?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi looked around the room curiously, "We wait."

Naruto sighed. Waiting was certainly not his favorite word.

Suddenly, the fireplace glowed with green flames, and when they retracted, a man stood in their place. He held a briefcase in one hand, and wore a long green cloak. He was backwards, facing the charred brick of the chimney. He gave a barely perceptible 'hm.' Team seven remained silent: the students still recovering from a man emerging from green fire, the teacher attempting to get some semblance of a greeting in order.

"The Network must be glitchy today," the man remarked under his breath. Not angrily, simply stating an observation. He ruffled his midnight hair as he turned around.

"Harry," Kakashi said quickly, before the wizard had a chance to react to four strangers standing in his living room.

Harry's hand immediately jumped to his pocket, going for his wand, when he saw his visitors and froze. The wizard and the shinobi locked eyes for a moment before Harry relaxed and smiled.

"Kakashi," he said, "Stealthy as ever, I see." He stepped fully out of the fireplace. "It's been too long."

Kakashi could only nod and agree. An enormous weight lifted from his stomach. "So it has."

0-o-0

Harry offered them seats on the chairs and couch after introductions were given and excused himself to deposit his briefcase and change his clothes. Kakashi sat in one of three comfortable chairs across from the couch. Sasuke sat in the middle, and Sakura took the last. Naruto had been relegated to the floor between his teammates in the fight for seating, and he sat cross-legged, looking tired as the outside light faded through the window behind them. Harry soon returned, dressed in muggle jeans and a red shirt. He sat on the couch across from Kakashi and flicked his wand at the lamps, creating an artificial glow in the room.

"Ginny should be here soon; she took James to the Burrow—our son," he added.

Kakashi nodded, "McGonagall told me. And another one coming?"

Harry grinned, something Kakashi didn't think he'd ever see him do before, "Yeah, another boy."

Kakashi couldn't help but smile a little too. It was clear that Harry loved being a dad.

"I'll guess that James is as much trouble as you?" Kakashi said slyly.

Harry smirked, "Even more. Not even two and already living up to his namesake. James Sirius."

"Sure you thought that one through?" Kakashi asked.

Harry laughed. "Maybe I didn't."

"He'll probably be as brave as they come, though," Kakashi added sincerely, his eye idly wandering around the room.

Harry nodded, "I hope so."

There was a brief pause before Harry asked, "So how have you been?"

Out of nowhere, there was a loud pop, and two people stood between Harry and Kakashi. Sasuke was half-out of his seat and brandishing a kunai before Kakashi raised a hand to stop him. Sasuke shot an annoyed glance at his sensei before sitting back down and stowing the weapon.

The visitors faced Harry, holding hands. They also wore casual clothes. Kakashi might not have recognized them from the back if it hadn't been for each of their distinct hair styles: one, vibrant red, the other, bushy brown curls. Kakashi maintained his silence and waited for them to notice him.

"Sorry we're late Harry," Hermione apologized, clearly a little flustered, "Rose wouldn't stop crying; the Burrow's just a new place to her and she doesn't—" She seemed to be trying to reassure herself.

"Hermione, breathe," Ron said calmly, squeezing her hand, "She's a quick learner; she'll be fine. Besides, we left her with my mum, didn't we? If anyone knows how to handle babies, it's her."

Hermione exhaled, "Right. I know. Anyway, Harry—what's that look?"

Harry was just smiling at them, "First, Ron's right; Rose will be fine at the Burrow. And second, look who's here." He gestured behind them.

Kakashi stood up as they turned around to see. They both stood frozen in surprise for a moment. For a terrible second, Kakashi thought that they didn't remember him.

"Hi," he said awkwardly. Really, he couldn't think of anything better to say?

"Kakashi!" Hermione finally exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. He could almost feel her smile as he returned the embrace. "Harry told us you were coming, but we didn't know when." She pulled back and shook her head. "You look just the same."

Kakashi only shrugged. He was definitely a creature of habit. Ron offered a hand, which Kakashi shook.

"Good to see you, mate." He seemed even taller than when Kakashi had last seen him.

Kakashi only noticed a few distinct changes in his friends. They were obviously tired; both looked like they needed a good nine hours of sleep. But he got a feeling of contentment and happiness from them that hadn't been there before. When everyone was introduced and seated again, he asked.

"How long have you been married?"

They both smiled. "Two years next month," Ron answered. Hermione glanced at him, mildly impressed that he seemed to be keeping track.

Kakashi nodded. "And who is Rose?"

Their smiles grew even wider, "Our daughter," Hermione answered this time. "She's just over two weeks old."

Now Kakashi smiled too. "Congratulations."

"What's going on, Kakashi?" Harry asked, a little impatiently. "Is there something wrong… on your end?"

"No, Konoha is fine. McGonagall didn't tell you?"

"Just that you got a letter—from Dumbledore?" Harry asked the last part quietly and with much confusion.

"What?" Hermione immediately asked, looking sharply from Harry to Kakashi despite her tiredness. "This happened recently?"

"A few days ago," Kakashi replied, "Our Hokage received a letter from Dumbledore. McGonagall says it's definitely his writing. But it's from at least ten years ago."

The trio looked even more confused.

"Here," Kakashi retrieved the letter from his pack, "It's easier just to show you."

He handed it to Harry, who read it silently, Hermione looking on over his shoulder. When he finished, he passed it to her and she read it again, this time with Ron looking over her shoulder. It seemed to be a process they had completed before.

"Can any of you make sense of it?" Kakashi asked after a moment.

Harry had been quiet and pensive the entire time, but now he shook his head. "I don't know of any charm that could send a letter ten years after it was written. But Dumbledore always knew a lot of things I didn't."

Ron spoke up, "He had to plan for the worst, mate."

Harry nodded, "I know. He was right to. It just seems like the secrets never end." He said the last part solemnly.

Hermione was still reading over the letter. "Sarutobi is your Hokage?" she asked Kakashi.

"Yes," he replied, "Still. He had to return to the position from retirement…" he realized he was getting away from the topic at hand, "But that's irrelevant." He addressed Harry, "The next person I was going to ask if you didn't know is Mad-Eye. Do you know how I can get in touch with him?"

Harry looked shocked, as if he had never heard the name before. He exchanged glances with Ron and Hermione. They all looked back at him with remorse. Kakashi sighed; he had half-expected this, but the confirmation still stung.

"Do you have a spare room?" Kakashi asked Harry.

"Uh, yeah," he replied, confused by the sudden change in direction of the conversation. "Down the hall. Second door on the right." He pointed in the general direction.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura," Kakashi addressed his students, "Go and get some rest; you've had a long day. You'll need your strength for tomorrow."

Naruto looked like he was about to ask why or argue, but Kakashi silenced him with a stern look. He followed his teammates to the room, only glancing back once at the trio and his sensei curiously. Once Kakashi heard the door click behind them, he quietly spoke again.

"They don't need to hear this." He listened for a moment and soon heard the murmurings of discussion between the teammates. He returned his gaze to them fully. "When." He commanded heavily. "And how. Not just Mad-Eye either. I need to know everything."

He waited expectantly as they exchanged sorrowful glances and sighs. Harry leaned forward in his seat restlessly. Finally, Hermione began the tale.

"The night Mad-Eye died," she paused for a moment, working out the wording in her head, "It was the night we had to move Harry from the Dursley's to the Burrow. Once the magic broke on his seventeenth birthday, he wouldn't be protected with his aunt and uncle anymore. Anyway, the Order decided he had to be moved, and it had to be done quickly…"

The following minutes—or hours, he couldn't tell—seemed to pass with incredible sluggishness. They each took turns telling parts of the story. It had been a long time since Kakashi had been through an emotional rollercoaster ride with so many twists and turns and breath-taking drops.

"…Dung disapparated as soon as he saw Voldemort; that's when they got Mad-Eye…"

"…They attacked at the wedding; we apparated as fast as we could. We were on our own after that…"

"...Somehow, we got the locket. I honestly wonder how we managed to get out. But Ron was hurt, and we couldn't destroy it…"

"…The locket was choking him; I pulled him out of the water… and I destroyed it with the sword…"

"…We found out the truth about the Hallows…"

"…Dobby saved all of us…"

"…I swear I thought Hermione was insane. Brilliant, of course, at the same time, but a _bloody_ _dragon_…"

"…Neville led us into the castle, told us about how they'd been fighting back the whole time. Everyone was waiting for us in the Room of Requirement… We had to find the diadem…"

"…It was complete chaos… We saw—we saw Fred fall…"

"…That's how we found out about Snape. He was on our side the whole time, on Dumbledore's orders. All because he loved my mum…"

"…It seemed like everyone was in a state of shock, moving lifelessly. That's…when we saw Professor Lupin and Tonks—I'm sorry, I thought I was done crying… God, we lost so many…"

"…It was Neville who killed the snake. Saved our lives, me and Hermione. Not a truer Gryffindor ever, if you ask me…"

"…We were locked together—and then… I barely remember; it was so fast. He just sort of crumpled. And that was it. Voldemort was dead."

The names swam through Kakashi's head in a whirlwind. Dumbledore. Fred. Lupin. Tonks. Snape. Mad-Eye. All gone, all long gone. It seemed impossible that he didn't know for all those years. That he could just have pushed this world away from his mind.

"Kakashi? Are you alright?" Hermione asked worriedly, bringing him out of his reverie.

He pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Yeah, just… processing."

"Kakashi," Harry began, receiving the shinobi's attention, "In McGonagall's office, did you talk to Dumbledore? You know, the portrait?"

"I've got nothing," was Kakashi's only response. "I'm at a dead end." He pulled off his headband and rubbed his Sharingan eye. It was itchy; he was tired.

"Well maybe…" Ron ventured, "Maybe it has something to do with you? With your village?"

The shinobi started to shake his head when Hermione spoke up again.

"Of course, you haven't told us anything about you. How is Rin doing?"

Before he could stop himself, he looked up into her red-rimmed eyes sharply at the mention of the name.

"I—" he started. He hadn't worked out how he was going to tell them. But he supposed that maybe the best way was blatant honesty, like they had just told him their story. He owed them his.

He folded his hands, the headband clasped between them. He sighed lightly, "It's been… eight years since I've seen her. She went out on a mission one day; it was the first time she was leading her own team. None of them were ever seen again. She's presumed dead. She is… dead," to his utter embarrassment, the last word was choked and mangled.

They stared at him with open mouths. And the more Kakashi watched their faces, the more he realized that they didn't seem to be sad at all. Only thoroughly shocked.

"But mate," Ron was the first to recover, "I just saw her, here, three months ago."

0-o-0

**So now we're getting somewhere. Let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello! Since I'm finally through semester exams, I thought you guys deserved an update. Sorry for the wait; and I know that this doesn't have much action in it, but you will get to see a few more characters and some more plot development. Enjoy!**

0-o-0

Chapter 5: The Inescapable Truth

0-o-0

"It must have been someone else."

He had to deny it. She couldn't have been here for eight years without him knowing. Without anyone knowing. It simply wasn't possible.

"But," Ron shifted in his seat nervously, "I talked to her—"

"Then someone deceived you," Kakashi interjected, a little angry.

"Why would anyone want to—"

"No one's seen her in eight years!" he almost shouted. "She can't have just shown up out of the blue—"

"Kakashi, calm down."

He didn't expect such an authoritative voice coming from Harry. Clearly he had learned to control his own hot-headedness since they last met. Kakashi locked his gaze onto Harry for a moment before turning back to Ron.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "But I am sure that you are mistaken. Perhaps with some rest, we can get to the bottom of this in the morning."

Ron was about to argue, but Hermione put a hand on his shoulder and he looked at her, closing his mouth.

"Good idea," she agreed, "How about we meet for breakfast tomorrow at the Burrow? I'm sure Molly and Arthur would like to see you, and we can talk then."

Kakashi agreed and said goodnight, excusing himself to the guest room. He opened the door quietly and slipped into the dark room. In the dim shadows, he could see that there were two twin beds in the room, one on either side of the wall. Naruto had somehow ended up in the one on the right side of the room while Sasuke and Sakura slept on the floor. All of them were oriented toward the door; obviously, they had been trying to listen in on the conversation. However, they had thoughtfully left the other bed for him. Kakashi wasn't sure if this was an act of kindness or fear, but he was grateful none-the-less.

He set his pack at the base of the bed, placing his headband carefully on top of it. He lied down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. His thoughts were a jumbled mess that kept him awake for several hours, but eventually Naruto's rhythmic snoring lulled him to sleep.

0-o-0

The following morning Kakashi entered the kitchen with three sleepy genin in tow to find Ginny buttering toast. She smiled good morning at them as they walked in. She didn't seem much different to Kakashi, except for her pregnant belly. Sun shone through the kitchen windows, catching her fiery hair and brightening the little space.

"Well what do you know," she said, "I half didn't believe Harry when he told me, but here you are. I didn't make it back until much later than expected; James was throwing a bit of a tantrum." She put a hand to her stomach. "I would hug you, but at this point it's a little awkward."

Kakashi smiled. "Don't worry about it. It's great to see you… Where's Harry?"

She resumed buttering her toast, "Oh, just getting dressed. I think we'll leave in about half an hour for the Burrow. Help yourself to anything… Is something wrong?"

Her question was directed to Naruto, who was unabashedly staring at her belly. He looked up at her face, a little startled.

"There's a foot!" he spluttered and pointed. Sakura immediately wrenched his hand down, glaring at him. Sasuke determinedly looked out the window above the kitchen sink.

Ginny raised an eyebrow as she received an apologetic glance from Kakashi. She passed her hand over the spot where Naruto had been looking; feeling the tiny footprint she already knew was there.

"Yeah, he likes to do that," she said, sighing, "It's getting a bit cramped in there for the both of us. Just two more weeks and three days. Hopefully." She took a bite of her toast and sighed.

Naruto cocked his head to the side, determinedly not looking at the little foot until his curiosity got the better of him just seconds later and he glanced at it.

"I promise he won't bite," Ginny chuckled, "I don't reckon I can say the same for James though. He seems to enjoy chewing on everything."

"Speaking of James," Harry entered the kitchen, "We should get going before your parents decide they're never going to babysit for us again. Morning," he said to Team 7.

Kakashi nodded before asking, "The Floo again?"

Harry smiled and said brightly, "You know what I'm going to say before I say it. It's like you never left."

0-o-0

The Burrow was aglow with morning sunlight when they arrived. The table was already set with plates and utensils, and the smell of heaping dishes of eggs and bacon and sausage greeted them as they brushed the fireplace dust from their clothes.

Mrs. Weasley turned from the sink where she had been charming a washcloth to scrub a few dirty dishes and immediately beamed at the lot of them. They met her half way between the open kitchen and the living room where the fireplace was located.

"Morning, Mum," Ginny kissed her mother on the cheek, "I hope James hasn't been too much trouble?"

"Nonsense, dear," she replied good-naturedly, "Your father's chasing him around outside. I would say he might need a break soon, however." She glanced at Harry, still smiling.

"I'm on it," Harry gave her a quick hug, "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."

She finally turned her attention to Kakashi. It seemed to him that whenever she looked at anyone, she gained an immediate understanding of them, a talent undoubtedly developed through years of caring for seven children. He also remembered that she had an amazing ability to make him feel appreciated and needed, and even though he had always shied away from her gushing hugs, it was always nice to be around her. Even now he felt the combined warmth of her and the home and felt as though it was his home too, as familiar to him as it was to Ginny and her brothers.

"Welcome back, dear," she said with open arms, and this time, he allowed her to hug him.

"It's good to be back," he replied.

"And these must be your students," she remarked, pulling away and examining them with her hands on her hips. "Well, I expect you all are famished. Go on ahead and help yourselves while I round up the others."

"Thank you," Sakura immediately replied. "It looks delicious."

"I hope so," Mrs. Weasley smiled again, "Go on now, not another word until you've had enough." She started purposefully up the stairs.

As the trio sat at the long breakfast table, Harry returned through the kitchen door with James on his shoulders. Kakashi immediately saw the mischievous glint in his bright blue eyes. James clutched his father's hair that matched his own, grinning toothily.

"All right big guy," Harry lifted James over his head and set him down into the high chair at the end of the table. James appeared as though he was going to protest as the tray was locked into place, but was soon appeased by the small plate with bits of egg and sausage on it that Harry placed before him. He immediately grabbed one of the sausage pieces and shoved it into his mouth.

"Yeah I bet you're hungry," Harry ruffled the messy black hair on the small head, "Making your grandpa chase after you like that. I guess the both of you have got a good amount of exercise today."

Arthur took this moment to enter, his own thinning red hair sticking out in places. He immediately picked out Kakashi and shook his hand across the table, asking how he was.

"Good," Kakashi only half-lied. He was still more than perturbed by the discussion of the previous night, but the food and company were helping to assuage his worry. They would get any misunderstandings sorted out soon enough.

Arthur took his place at the head of the table, and helped himself to the basket of toast, which was nearest to him.

"I assume," he continued, "That Harry, Ron, and Hermione have filled you in about us by now?"

"Yes, sir," Kakashi confirmed, "I'm—I'm really sorry about Fred."

Mr. Weasley nodded, as though he had heard this many times before. "As are we all. We miss him terribly of course, George most of all, but we are getting along. And it would seem that this one," he nodded across the table at James, who was now examining a piece of wheat toast, "is shaping up to be just as much of a trickster. I swear sometimes he has more energy than Fred and George combined when they were little. And then of course, I remember just how much trouble they were." He gave Kakashi a conspiratorial wink. The shinobi couldn't help but smirk.

Molly returned with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione in tow. Hermione carefully negotiated the stairs, carrying a snow white bundle in her arms and holding the bottle that protruded from the top of it. Ron and Hermione bade good morning to everyone at the breakfast table before Hermione said that she would sit on the couch in the living room instead of the already crowded table. Kakashi glanced away quickly when Ron kissed her on the cheek before joining the rest of the table. He felt like he had just witnessed something secret. His brain knew they were married and kissing was completely normal, but his memory still believed that they couldn't possibly be married; they could barely have a normal conversation with each other. Strange, he thought, what could change in eight years.

The rest of breakfast went on cheerfully. Ron ate quickly so that he could relieve Hermione. Naruto glanced a few times at the bundle, seeming to be making the connection that there was a tiny foot in there too, much like the one that had made the footprint from before. This innocent fascination both perplexed and amused Kakashi. What was it that was so interesting to Naruto?

"Mrs. Weasley," Kakashi addressed their host, "Do you have any work that these three could help you with?" He indicated the row of his students next to him. They glanced up contentedly from their plates, except Sasuke, of course, who would never wear such an expression.

Mrs. Weasley appeared thoughtful for a moment, "Well, sure. The garden could always use a good de-gnoming."

"And maybe someone could play with James for a bit?" Ginny asked.

"Naruto," Kakashi immediately said, "You go with James. Sasuke and Sakura, the garden."

"What's de-gnoming?" Sakura asked a little suspiciously.

"Oh it's nothing difficult dear. You just gotta give 'em a good whack really, and there's not much more too it. I'll show you after we're all done here," Mrs. Weasley assured her. Sakura only seemed to be more confused. Sasuke, however, wonder of all wonders, seemed interested. As Kakashi walked over to Ron, he heard Naruto say, "Woah, you're pretty fast for a little guy!" and a peal of laughter that soon grew distant. Kakashi felt Hermione's eyes on him as he sat down next to Ron on the couch. He opened his mouth to start the conversation that he knew had to take place, but he didn't know what to say.

Rose yawned sleepily, nestled in crook of Ron's arm. He only needed one arm to hold her; she was still so little, but already Kakashi thought he could see a little Hermione in her, except for a wisp of bright red hair peeking out from her pink cap. She valiantly tried to keep her eyes open but soon succumbed to drowsiness. Ron tore his eyes away from her and with his free hand pulled out a small, leather-bound notebook from his back pocket. He handed it to Kakashi.

"She gave me this, told me never to read what was in it," Kakashi knew immediately who they were talking about, "Wouldn't say why, just that I could never open it. At the time I assumed she'd be back for it, maybe it was something important for her mission, but when you said that she'd been missing all this time… I had to know what was so important, so I read it last night."

It was only now, when Kakashi looked at his expression, he saw that Ron looked troubled.

"It's not good. I… I haven't told Harry yet; I thought you should see it first." There was a strained silence where Ron seemed to be contemplating whether or not to tell him something. Kakashi waited impatiently, turning the notebook over in his hands. "Just read the September entry; they're all pretty much the same."

Kakashi nodded and opened the book, but before he could even glance at the words, Ron interrupted.

"Try behind the broom shed. I've found it's pretty quiet back there," he suggested. Kakashi looked at him blankly. "Trust me," Ron said, "You'll be glad for the quiet." Kakashi held his stare for a moment longer before rising and heading out the kitchen door, the book clutched in his hand.

It didn't take him long to find the small, battered shed. He sat behind it, hidden from the heat of the rising sun. He mindlessly flipped through the pages of the little book, some were bent, others even in danger of ripping out of their binding. He found the September entry that Ron had mentioned in the last few pages.

_September 15_

His birthday, her handwriting. His heart jumped to his throat. He hadn't truly believed until now; after all, how could he not have known? How could she have been here all this time, and never said a word to anyone? He began to read, slowly, staring the truth in the face and forcing his brain to accept it.

_I thought of you as the dark, suffocating tunnel swallowed me whole…_

0-o-0

Kakashi walked mechanically to Harry, who was sitting in the grass in the front yard, contentedly watching Naruto chase his son around some distance away. After stopping beside the wizard, Kakashi watched his student for a moment, feeling yet more regret after what he had just read, knowing how different the young genin's life would have been if Rin had been there to take care of him. He didn't register the first time Harry said his name.

"Kakashi?" Harry repeated.

The shinobi looked down on the bespectacled face blankly. "Read this," he commanded, "the last entry." He handed Harry the notebook and waited.

It was several minutes later before the wizard stood and returned the notebook. He was noticeably more grim.

"How did you get this?" he asked, keeping his eyes on James and Naruto.

"Ron gave it to me," Kakashi replied, also training his eyes on the boys and not looking at Harry, "He said he thought that I should see it first, but I suspect Hermione knows what it says as well."

Harry only nodded. "What do you want to do?"

James latched himself onto Naruto's leg, who fell spectacularly to James's great amusement. They both dissolved into laughter.

"I'm going to find her," Kakashi finally said with determination, "I'm going to find her, I'm going to kill the monster that's been hunting her, and she's finally going to come home."

Harry looked at him, then back to the boys.

"Okay."

0-o-0

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Well hello there. It's not like it's been nearly six months or anything ridiculous like that. Because that would make me very stupid. **

**I know. I am. My profuse apologies, again. **

**I won't lie; this is getting harder to write for me. My interest is waning. But I do not intend to give up on it. However, I have become recently obsessed with Sherlock, and that certainly isn't helping things. But if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's funny; I much more like Sherlock/Irene in the movies, but now completely support Johnlock in the show. Strange how different perspectives change things, isn't it? Something Kakashi should consider. Anyway, as always, enjoy.**

0-o-0

Chapter 6: Something

0-o-0

Naruto looked up from the soft green grass he had fallen onto. James was using his leg to push himself up, still grinning at his newfound playmate. Naruto grinned too; this mission wasn't so bad, he decided. He glanced over at Harry to find that the bespectacled man was now standing and talking with his sensei. They both wore that expression that Naruto knew adults get when they're talking about something bad. His grin slowly abated as he watched them.

Kakashi made eye contact with him and motioned with his hand to come to the house. Naruto waved, stood, and started towards the building when a weight attached itself to his leg. He looked down to find James looking up at him expectantly, waiting for him to fall over again.

"Uh, sorry, I gotta go now," Naruto said, pointing towards the house.

James scrunched his face into a frown but let go, and then he reached his hands toward the sky.

"Up!" he demanded. Naruto looked down at him with an eyebrow raised, and then shrugged. He leaned down and grabbed James around the waist, carrying him towards the house like a sack of potatoes, laughing when the little boy began to pretend he was an airplane.

0-o-0

Sakura stood and scratched the tip of her nose with a dirty hand. She knew that there was dirt on her face now, but the itch had been bothering her for the past few minutes. She looked around, wanting to see something other than the particularly obnoxious gnome that had been successfully avoiding her. Her eyes fell upon Harry Potter and her sensei talking, and though their backs were to her, she could tell that it was serious. Beyond them, she spotted Naruto and Harry's son playing and smiled; they really were perfect for each other. Naruto had the mind of a two year old after all.

She focused back on her sensei and Harry, wondering what was happening. Something had just changed; she could feel it, almost as if it were charging the air around her. But what was it?

0-o-0

"Something's happened."

The unusual seriousness in her voice was what made Sasuke pay attention. He followed Sakura's gaze to where their sensei and Harry Potter seemed to be deep in conversation. Sasuke stood from his position in the garden, anticipating, feeling a sense of seriousness and readiness wash over him. Finally, something was going to happen with this mission.

_Crunch._

Sasuke kicked and sent the gnome flying that had just bitten his ankle. He looked down and was not surprised to see a trickle of blood running into his sandal. As always, he was unperturbed.

"Oh, Sasuke, are you all right?" Sakura asked from behind him. Although he couldn't see her, he could picture the exact expression on her face: one of naïve worry and hopeful concern. He nearly scoffed at the thought.

"Fine. I think that's the last of them," he replied, the longest string of words he had uttered all day.

"Yeah, I think so too."

Both of the students watched their sensei trudge slowly towards the door, silently awaiting orders. They received them when Kakashi was about ten feet away.

"Sasuke, Sakura, inside," he nodded toward the door, "I know why we're here."

Sasuke allowed himself a rare half-smile as he willingly obeyed. Finally, something was going to happen with this mission. This ever-boring-gnome-filled mission.

Fortunately, it wouldn't be for much longer.

0-o-0

"It has come to my attention," Kakashi began after all of his students were seated at the kitchen table, "That someone from Konoha, besides us, is here in the Wizarding World." He stood in the living room, hands in pockets, trying to appear calmer than he felt. And trying to be as vague as possible, for now. He definitely didn't need his team interrogating him about Rin and the former Team Seven just yet. Or ever. Harry sat behind him on the couch in the living room, silently observing. "Our objective will be to find her and bring her home as soon as possible—"

Naruto's hand was already in the air. Kakashi rolled his eye, gesturing vaguely for the boy to ask whatever was on his mind.

"Who is she?"

"I was just getting to that. Her name is Rin Hayata," the name felt dusty in his mouth, it hadn't been used in so long, "and she has been missing for eight years." He longed to look away from his students, in shame or pain or regret or something, but he resisted.

"Did you know her?" It was Sakura asking this time.

"Yes," was all he divulged. _Probably more than anyone else,_ was the unwarranted response that continued in his brain, _and she knew me._

Sakura seemed to sense that he was holding back information, but didn't press.

"How did she get here?" she asked instead.

That was a bit harder to explain, "The same way we did," Kakashi half-lied, "But what's important is that she didn't come alone. There was a rogue shinobi chasing her, and has been attempting to kill her since." Again, the words sounded strange coming out of his mouth. He hadn't fully processed the new information himself. "As far as I can tell, she hasn't been able to do much but evade him. He's extremely powerful and must have some tracking skills in order to be continually chasing her, especially since she knows how to erase her trail." He felt like he was talking to himself more than anyone else now, trying to sort out the facts and the possibilities.

"What's his rank?" Sasuke asked seriously.

Kakashi shrugged, "Probably S rank, at least."

"S rank?" Sakura spluttered, "But Kakashi sensei, we're not ready for that—"

"After Zabuza and Haku, I'd say you can take on just about anyone," not entirely true, but close enough, "and you forget so soon, Sakura, that I keep my promises. And I promised that I wouldn't allow my comrades to die, didn't I?"

"Well, yes but—"

"But it's different here, I know. We aren't playing by the same rules as in the shinobi world. Which is why you'll be needing wands."

He waited for the moment of stunned silence to pass. It did, and the assault of questions continued.

0-o-0

He lied on his bed that night, staring at the ceiling instead of sleeping. Molly and Arthur were kind enough to let Team Seven stay at the Burrow, since they had the space and had nothing else to do with it. Ron, Hermione, and Rose remained as well, though Harry and Ginny decided to take James home for the night. Prolonged exposure to Naruto probably wasn't good for the already-precocious two-year-old, Kakashi mused. He sat up with a sigh, pulling a mask over his head and sandals on his feet, padded silently out the door.

It wasn't hard for him to get onto the roof. He stretched out, admiring the clear sky. The air was still and pleasant, and the cicadas provided a lulling rhythm. But even that didn't help him relax. The following day they were to head into Diagon Alley to get wands for his students. The three genin had immediately protested this idea, just has he did, but they would learn soon enough. They would have to; it was too risky to rely completely on jutsu here. Secrets had to be kept.

He wondered where Rin was sleeping tonight. Was she anywhere near them? What if she was just over the hill there, and he never knew? He tried to push her out of his mind, as he had done mostly successfully for the past several years, but his thoughts kept circling back to her. And why shouldn't they? A week ago he could block her from his mind because a week ago she was dead. But now she was alive.

There was a soft _pop_ from behind him. He tilted his head back lazily to see a robed figure shuffling over to sit beside him. He sat up wearily.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Shouldn't you?" Hermione replied just as quietly. "I was up with Rose," she explained.

Kakashi nodded, avoiding her gaze and continuing his vigil of the sky. "How did you know I was here?"

"I passed your room and the door was open. I remembered you liked to watch the stars so I chanced a guess."

"Good memory," he commented idly, knowing the reason she was here and wanting to avoid it.

"How are you holding up?" she asked, her tone too even to not be deliberate.

"Fine," he replied equally evenly.

"Oh no you don't," she poked him in the shoulder, "Harry does the exact same thing, tries to put up a wall and not let anyone in. I've been dealing with him for fifteen years; it won't work on me."

Kakashi took in a breath and gave her his most exasperated look. She didn't flinch, not that he expected her to. He let out the air in a rush.

"I'm just a little…" He struggled for an appropriate adjective.

"Overwhelmed? Hurt? Terrified?" Hermione supplied when he trailed off, "Because I'd be all of that and more, if I were you."

He only shrugged, folding his hands and resting his elbows on his knees.

Under her persistent gaze, he finally said, "It's been a long time."

"Mm…" she murmured her assent, "When was the last time you saw her?"

He shrugged again, pretending to think, but not really needing too. The day was burned in his memory forever. It had been sunny, one of those days where it felt like nothing could go wrong…

0-o-0

He waited at the front gate to the village, trying not to look nervous, continually glancing down the side street she was sure to emerge from. They were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago; what was taking so long?

"_Naruto,_" he heard her slightly exasperated voice admonish, "Don't drag him in the dirt. You wouldn't like it if someone did that to you, would you? There you go." They rounded the corner.

Rin held Naruto's little hand as they both walked slowly towards the shady tree that Kakashi was standing under. Naruto's eyes were as bright as ever, and he grinned and pointed at Kakashi as they approached, which was something of a feat since the hand that wasn't holding Rin's was clutching a large stuffed animal toad to his chest. It was a little slow going since Naruto had wobbly three-year-old legs, but he didn't mind. He went to meet them in the street.

"Hi," he said as he walked up to Rin, immediately picking Naruto up (stuffed toad and all) and carrying him over his shoulder back to the tree. The blonde giggled madly.

Rin chuckled, "Hello," and followed the boys, carrying a large bag over her shoulder as well as a backpack. She set the bag down when they reached the tree and shrugged off the pack. Kakashi plopped Naruto down in the soft grass.

"I think I have everything ready for him: clothes, extra sandals, a jacket, and so on. And Mr. Toad of course." She gestured to the stuffed animal. Naruto was finding it extremely entertaining to make "ribbit" noises, pretending it was Mr. Toad. Rin smiled, continuing her instructions. "Shikaku told me someone would be around the house at three, so you only have to keep him occupied for a couple of hours. He just ate, so you don't have to feed him. And please don't let him badger you into buying sweets. Or ramen. His water bottle is in the bag if he gets thirsty. And… I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting…"

"Yourself?" Kakashi half-joked.

"I'll be fine," she said dismissively. She rolled her eyes when he didn't answer. "Kakashi, it's a medical mission. There won't even be any danger to get myself into. I'm more worried about him than me." She gestured to Naruto.

"And you shouldn't be," he stated adamantly, "Are you sure you won't let Pakkun tag along? He'd make a good guide—"

"I need to do this, Kakashi." Her hardened expression left no room for argument. He sighed.

"I know. You just… scare the hell out of me, you know that?"

She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I know. You'll keep an eye on Naruto?"

"Yeah," he returned the embrace. Her hair smelled like lavender. It would be one of the few specific memories he held onto for the next eight years. "Be careful."

"Always." She pulled away, bending over to pick up Naruto. "I gotta go now, okay?" she said to the little boy, "Kakashi's going to play with you today."

"Kashi," Naruto repeated, talking around the three fingers in his mouth.

"That's right. And you're going to stay with Shikamaru for a while, remember?"

"Sikamaru!" Apparently, this was much more exciting than Kakashi.

"Okay." She pulled Naruto's hand away from his mouth and looked into his blue eyes. "I love you, Naruto." She kissed his forehead.

"Love you," he repeated. Rin passed him over to Kakashi and picked up her backpack. She stopped, and Kakashi thought she was going to say something else, but she just smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She kissed Kakashi on the cheek, a habit she had gotten into lately that he didn't entirely mind, and left, waving to Naruto.

"I'll be back before you know it." Those were the last words he heard her say.

He and Naruto watched her leave, the gates closed behind her, and she was gone.

"Bye bye," Naruto said, still waving.

"She'll be back," Kakashi said. Naruto stopped waving and stuck his hand back in his mouth. "You want to go to the park?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto pointed to the sky triumphantly, "Park!" he declared, as if it had been his plan all along.

"I'll take that as a yes," Kakashi said, lifting Naruto onto his shoulders and grabbing the bag near the tree.

They set off, Naruto chattering away about everything and nothing, Kakashi lost in his own thoughts. It wasn't until several minutes later that Naruto seemed to remember something.

"You love too?" he asked.

"What?" Kakashi asked, jolted out of his thoughts.

"Rin love. You love too?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out. He still couldn't answer.

0-o-0

"He asked me…" Kakashi finished the story, waving his hand dismissively, "It's not important."

Hermione turned his gaze away from him, to the stars. "He asked you if you loved her, didn't he?"

Kakashi squinted at the sky and then rolled his eye, "How on earth could you possibly know that?"

"Kids can tell when something is off, and they don't yet have the discretion to keep quiet about it," she replied, "In Ron's case, he still doesn't." Kakashi scoffed.

"So?" she asked, purposefully avoiding looking at him.

"So what?"

"You know perfectly well what."

"No, I don't. What?"

"For goodness sake Kakashi," she shook her head, "Do you love her?"

"…No."

"Liar."

"Then why did you ask in the first place?"

"You really haven't changed."

"I was actively avoiding it." The answer was so sudden that it took Hermione a minute to comprehend it, and when he didn't elaborate, she gestured for him to continue.

He shrugged, "Things were good. I didn't want them to change. Things have a historical tendency to change for the worse around us. And they did. So I said nothing."

"But you felt…" she waited him to supply the answer.

"Something," he filled in.

"Something is good," she stood up, "Something is much better than nothing. Now things are going to change again, and this time, you should _say_ something too."

And with those words of wisdom, she turned on the spot and vanished, leaving Kakashi alone with the stars.

0-o-0

**So? (she asks as if she deserves feedback after being gone for so long) What did you think? I think the beginning's a bit choppy, but I wanted more of the genins' reactions. However, I loved writing the Hermione/Kakashi conversation. Had that one in my head for quite a while. Anyway, I just got a job, but it's only three hours a day, so I should be able to write. You know, if I can get over this other obsession I've got going. If you're interested, there will probably be something Sherlockian up from me eventually. Thanks for sticking with me, guys!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Well, this one did not take months, fortunately, and it's a little longer than my usual 2500ish words. Enjoy!**

0-o-0

Chapter 7: Forever Running

0-o-0

He must actually be insane. Subjecting himself to these stupid robes _again_? Ugh.

Of course, he was allowed to keep the mask, but decided to forgo the headband for an eye patch. He was reminded of Moody as he put it on. How the ex-Auror would have laughed in his face…

He told his students to remove their headbands as well; they were too easily identifiable and would make them stand out against a crowd of mundane wizards. As if they wouldn't stand out already between his hair and Sakura's, Naruto's whisker marks, and Sasuke's suspicion of everything that had a brain. They definitely needed to minimize the damage as much as possible.

Kakashi wore one of Harry's old cloaks, which was a little short around the ankles, but Ron's had been undeniably too long. It was plain black. Thankfully, Harry was not one for flashy fashion. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all wore old cloaks from the various Weasley boys and girl. Naruto's was navy blue, as was Sasuke's, while Sakura's was dark grey, with a small red flower embroidered over the breast. A hand-me-down from the only Weasley daughter, Kakashi surmised.

Harry and Ron decided to accompany them since it was Sunday, and someone needed to show them around. Hermione wanted to join them, but she decided to stay home with Rose and catch up on some reading along with a few other chores. Harry and Ron met the shinobi at the Burrow in the morning, apparating outside the front door and swishing in with their own cloaks.

"Morning," Ron said; Harry raised a hand in greeting. Kakashi returned the gesture. "They've flooed before right?" Ron asked.

"Once," Kakashi replied, "They'll be fine."

"Right," Harry said briskly, heading for the fireplace, "Let's go then."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Ron and inclined his head toward Harry, silently asking, "What's up with him?"

Ron waved it off, "Don't mind him; he's just nervous about Ginny. Was like this right before James came too; missions were awful. Can't say I blame him though, you know, with everything that's happened."

Kakashi nodded as he headed for the fireplace as well, hiding his own nervousness of returning to Ollivander's. He really didn't need to be recognized by anyone else except his friends, and Ollivander always gave him the creeps.

0-o-0

He needn't have worried. Harry told him that Ollivander had died several years before. His replacement wasn't quite as good as the elderly wandmaker had been, but still competent, and less mental.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley; what can I do for you today?" came the friendly greeting as they walked in the shop.

"These three will be needing wands, Allan," Harry stepped aside slightly so that Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke could approach the tall desk.

"Of course, of course," the middle-aged man leaned over the counter to inspect the three genin. "What are your names?" They told him. "Foreigners, then? Came all the way to Ollivander's to get your wands? Good thinking. Best wands there are, even though old Ollie's gone. I reckon I manage alright." He didn't give them anytime to respond to his questions. "Alright then, you first; I'll be right back." He had gestured to Sakura, who remained in between the two boys but leaned to the left to try and see what the man behind the counter was looking for. He quickly returned with a rectangular box, opened it, and pushed its contents toward her. She grasped the wand from the box tentatively, and dropped it seconds later because of the frost beginning to encase the handle.

"Not that one, then," Allan remarked, as if he had known all along that the wand wouldn't choose her, "Let's try another."

This continued for two hours as each genin was matched with a wand. Sakura ended up with one of willow, 11 inches, unicorn hair. Sasuke's took the longest to place: hornbeam, 12 ¼ inches, dragon heartstring. It would continue to emit a bright green flame every time he touched it for the next two days. Naruto surprisingly found his wand on the second try: redwood, 11 ¾ inches, thestral tail hair. It was a very unique wand, Allan told him; he rarely ever sold thestral hair wands, they only accepted the most open people, those with true willingness to change.

The first thing Kakashi thought upon hearing this was that there couldn't be a more perfect match for that wand. Out of his three students, Naruto definitely had the most capacity to change. He was a goofball one minute, determined rookie the next. Always a game-changer. The next thought he had was that he had no money to pay for the wands.

No sooner had he thought this than Harry said, "How much do I owe you, Allan?"

Kakashi immediately felt guilty for accepting the help. And he didn't like being indebted to people either.

Allan totaled up the bill, "You boys figure out the Greenwich case yet? I been hearing some strange rumors around here."

"Still an ongoing investigation, mate. You know we can't talk about it." Ron answered.

Allan only shrugged, "I'm just curious is all. It's strange, such violence; it doesn't happen like that anymore. So… explosive." Something triggered in the back of Kakashi's brain. He had to ask Harry about that case. "Ah well, I read too many of those muggle crime novels." Allan smiled. "Anyway, best of luck."

"Thanks," Harry said and shook his hand. They exited the store, the genin holding the boxes with their wands inside them. The group assimilated into the throng of witches and wizards doing their shopping on the summer day.

"Hold onto those," Kakashi immediately instructed, "The consequences could be disastrous if you lose them. That will be the extension of your chakra while you're here; no more shinobi techniques."

As predicted, Sasuke glowered at him, Sakura looked extremely interested to test her wand more extensively, and Naruto didn't seem to care in the least. Harry and Ron lead them down the busy alley.

"The Greenwich case?" Kakashi immediately asked Harry once they were in the flow of traffic.

"Carolyn Greenwich, 76, killed in her home a couple weeks ago. We haven't been able to track down the killer," Kakashi could tell this was a great burden on Harry from his tone, "All of our sensors say there are traces of magic everywhere at the scene, but we haven't been able to pinpoint any specific spells, much less a motive for killing an old woman who lived by herself."

"She lived by herself?"

"Yeah. No one around for a few miles, actually. Out in the countryside."

"What was the magic like?"

"What?"

"You said there were traces of magic, but nothing specific. What did you mean exactly?"

"I mean… at the scene, I walked into the house, and I could just feel it. Dark magic everywhere, soaking the place. But like I said, we couldn't determine what spells were used…" his voice trailed off, catching on. "You don't think any spells _were_ used, do you?"

"I don't know," Kakashi said seriously, "I'll need to see the scene. The wandmaker described the crime as explosive; Rin wrote that the enemy's chakra is explosive. It's not much, but right now, it might be a connection to this mysterious Rokuro. Have there been any other cases like this?"

"One," Ron interrupted gravely, "About eight years ago. It was one of our first. How didn't I see it before?"

"You weren't looking for it before," Kakashi answered. "And now that we are, hopefully we can make some headway in the search—"

He had been scanning the crowd in front of him, randomly searching for everything and nothing, when he saw them. A pair of chocolate brown eyes, staring straight at him from underneath a green hood, terrified. Just as he noticed, she bolted down a side alley.

Rin.

0-o-0

Faster. Faster!

She flung a stunning spell over her shoulder as she plunged into the trees, missing by a few inches. Damn. She usually didn't miss anymore. He chased her doggedly, remaining only thirty or so feet behind her, even now that they had entered the woods. Pretty good, for a non-shinobi. Really good, actually. She idly wondered what potions he was taking to increase his speed and stamina. Right, no time for that; shove the curious medic aside. She needed to be the survivor now.

"You can't run forever!" he had the boldness to say. Oh, but she could run far longer than he could.

But where to go? Where to hide? Her backpack bounced on her shoulders as she pelted the ground, breathing hard, sweat seeping into the collar of her t-shirt. This wood seemed to go on for a while, maybe if she could put enough distance between them she could try to apparate again—

Ugh! Another man stepped out from a tree in front of her, and she ran straight into him. He was shorter than the other man, but stockier.

She recovered more quickly than he did, and she rammed her knee into his stomach, causing him to double over in pain. But apparently not as much pain as she thought, because he reached out and grabbed her ankle, pulling her leg out from under her and sending her into the dirt. She immediately countered by swinging her other foot into his head, knocking him out. A curse hit the ground next to her as she tugged her ankle free from unconscious guy's grip. Chaser guy was close now. She stood quickly and turned on the spot, but not before he lunged for her backpack…

She tried to wrestle him off as they apparated, but his grip wouldn't budge. When they arrived, she landed on top of him heavily. She quickly scrambled off of him, expecting a fight, but he was unconscious. They had landed on concrete; there were buildings on either side of them. An alley. She looked to her right to see crowds of people milling around the street off the alley and immediately knew where she was. Diagon Alley. The first place that came to her mind. The first place she felt happy in the Wizarding World. Her still rapidly beating heart sunk. Not the safest place for her to be now, or for anyone else around her. Chaser guy moaned and blinked his eyes. Time to get going; she would just have to deal with it and try not to get anyone killed.

She pulled up the hood on the green cloak around her shoulders and plunged into the throng of people.

She walked, head down, eyes scanning the crowd in front of her for several minutes before risking a look back. She wished she hadn't, because there he was, thirty or so feet behind her again, searching for his target. As she turned back to face front she didn't think he had noticed her yet, but it would only be a matter of time. What she needed was a landmark, somewhere that would tell her where the hell she was in this mess of shops and people. Apparating again was no good; she had only learned how by accident. She was barely capable when adrenaline was controlling her body, but now that she was forced to be calm, and with all these people around… It wasn't going to happen. She searched the shops around her, trying to walk quickly but not too quickly. Aha! Ollivander's was down the street. Finally, some place she remembered—

She stopped dead in the middle of the crowd. She saw a boy, blonde hair, whisker marks on his cheeks, and the bluest eyes she had ever seen. Cold fear stole her heartbeat. Her eyes were playing tricks on her. She blinked; it must be a dream, a hallucination, not real. Then she tore her gaze away from him and settled on one that was almost more frightening than the boy. She'd know that grey iris anywhere.

Kakashi.

Without thinking, she ran.

0-o-0

"Stay here!" he shouted, taking off after her, or what he thought was her. Though they were familiar, he thought in a split second, those eyes seemed to belong to a ghost, not a person.

He bolted through the crowd, shoving people aside, and dashed down the narrow alley that she took. He caught a swish of forest green rounding another corner down the alley. He sprinted towards it and rounded the corner, only to be hit in the chest with such colossal force he fell into the brick wall behind him.

He barely realized it was Rin that had hit him when she pointed her wand back the way he had come, shouting in a voice he hardly recognized.

"Stupefy!" He looked in the direction she was pointing to find a man slumping to the ground on contact with the red jet of light. Her wand was pointed back at him not a second after the man fell.

They stared at each other for a second, each trying to absorb the impossible information their eyes were feeding their brains. _She's really alive. He's really here._

Kakashi was the first to find his voice. "It's me," he said, immediately thinking he could have done better. "Rin…" He stood slowly, but she didn't lower her wand. Her expression was all levels of distrust, confusion, fear. Her face was tan and dirty, the mask of someone who lived on the run constantly, in the wild, surviving and not living. The girl that used to be his best friend was now a woman who refused to trust anyone for fear of getting killed.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly, tentatively reaching a hand towards her.

But it was the wrong move. She batted his hand away and shoved him back into the wall, retreating quickly. And then he saw what he never wanted to see in her. The mask of distrust broke, and unimaginable pain flooded her eyes.

"Stay away from me," she said, her voice wavering, "Go, and don't ever come back."

She turned and disappeared.

0-o-0

He sat, stunned into silence, staring at the place where she had vanished into thin air. Realizing after a few moments that he was holding his breath, he coughed and took deep gulps of air, trying to focus on what he could remember about her.

Green cloak, faded black pants, a beat up rucksack. He thought he might have seen a kunai holster, but he couldn't be sure. Sandals, shinobi style, but obviously not the ones she had left with. Her hair was a little longer, pulled back in a ponytail, some strands leaking out to frame her face. And those eyes. Ghost eyes. Her eyes always used to give her away; he could spot a lie from miles off. Where her voice said one thing, her eyes always told the truth.

_Go, and don't ever come back. _Her eyes weren't lying.

She couldn't have meant that.

He glanced at the unconscious man ten feet away from him. The guy was out cold. Good, they needed answers from him.

"Kakashi!"

"Sensei!"

He stood up slowly as his students and the two Aurors ran toward him.

"I thought I told you to stay back," he muttered as Naruto and Sakura rushed up to him.

"You were gone so fast we barely saw where you went," Sakura explained, "But I was able to pick out your chakra signature; I figured it wouldn't be hard because of all the wizards," she said at his raised eyebrow, mistaking skepticism for bewilderment. Even with all of the wizards, detecting his specific chakra signature was no small feat. "Anyway, we thought you might need backup—Are you hurt?" she interjected suddenly.

Kakashi noticed that he was holding an arm across his chest; whatever had hit him—presumably Rin's foot—packed quite a punch. That would leave a mark for sure. "I'm fine," he said.

"You don't look fine."

Kakashi looked at Naruto, who was eyeing him intensely, way too intensely for the normally easy-going genin. Then Kakashi wondered, had Rin seen Naruto? She would have known who he was in a second, and that might have been why she ran so quickly.

"I'm okay," he assured the blonde and looked over him to Harry, who was crouching next to the unconscious man. Ron and Sasuke stood next to him. Harry looked up at Kakashi.

"Was it her?" he asked.

Kakashi nodded.

"Did you do this?"

This time he shook his head. "No."

"She stunned him then," Harry stated.

"He was chasing her," Kakashi said, joining them looking down at the man, "She stunned him… after kicking me into a wall." There was a stunned moment of silence from the two wizards.

"I bet that doesn't happen often," Ron finally said, quietly astonished. Kakashi shot him an annoyed glance and he quickly looked back down at the man, clearing his throat. "We can stash him in a holding cell for tonight, question him tomorrow. Harry?"

Harry pushed up the man's right sleeve, finding nothing there but unmarked skin. Kakashi raised a questioning eyebrow.

"The Dark Mark, Voldemort branded it onto his followers forearms. Old habits; can't help but check." Harry shrugged. "Alright, I'll take him to the Ministry. Ron, you take them back to the Burrow by Floo, and have Hermione look at that," he nodded at Kakashi, who once again had an arm inadvertently slung across his ribs. "Tell Ginny I'll be back in a few hours."

"Sure mate," Ron replied and Harry disappeared with chaser guy. He glanced at the shinobi. "Right, let's go then."

Kakashi ushered his students in front of him, jaw set, staring sternly ahead. Ron shot him a nervous look when they were once again immersed in the customers of Diagon Alley.

"We'll find her Kakashi; we will," he said assuringly.

Kakashi didn't reply, moving silently through the crowds, knowing her face would no longer be among them.

0-o-0

She hit the ground running, not knowing or caring where she ended up, so long as she ran. It was a cornfield, she quickly realized, green shoots springing up around her. She sprinted down a row, turned left, right, left again, then straight for a while until her heart was pounding so hard that she thought it might explode.

She dropped to her knees, panting for breath. She threw off the pack and cloak, feeling suddenly restricted, trapped. She managed to get her breathing slowed before looking around. She saw nothing but rows of crops for miles around; no one would bother her here. She didn't even remember where here was yet, but she didn't care. She lowered her head into her hands.

It had to be a trick. Rokuro had found out about Kakashi somehow; put her under genjutsu or some other spell or curse to make her think he was here. It was a trap. Then her breath caught when she remembered the blonde boy. Naruto. Rokuro had found out about him too. Sure, her mind could fabricate his image easily; he looked so like his father…

Yes, they couldn't be here. Because if they were, he would kill them. If they were, she wasn't sure how far she'd go to protect them. Maybe too far.

Kakashi's gaze flashed behind her eyes, and she groaned and shook her head to clear the image. She was surprised to feel tears rolling down her face. She hadn't cried in years. But she quickly found that once she started, she couldn't stop.

The sun set before she picked herself up and moved to find a more suitable campsite for the night. Blinking her bloodshot eyes she thought, it was a trick, nothing more. Just another attack she would have to counter, another obstacle to overcome. Survival was the only thing that mattered anymore.

0-o-0

**And on that depressing note, I'll leave you for now. So? Not exactly the first meeting you were hoping for probably. I know; I'm working on it. I think the next one will go more smoothly-ish. By the way, Allan is named after and based on a friend of mine: weird but generally a nice guy. What did you think of him? And I'll give you a little teaser for next chapter: it may or may not involve flying lessons. Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hi, how are ya? (ten points if you know what movie that's from.) Enjoy the chapter.**

0-o-0

Chapter 8: It's All About Control

0-o-0

They returned to the Burrow safely and without any mishaps, and were greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as well as Hermione.

"Hey," Ron said in greeting when they entered the kitchen, kissing his wife on the cheek (which Kakashi still thought was weird), "How come you're here?"

"Harry sent me a Patronus saying that Kakashi was hurt," she looked at the shinobi, who was doing his best to look normal and not like his torso was aching, but apparently he wasn't succeeding because Hermione frowned at him. "What happened?"

Molly came into the kitchen, "Rose is sleeping, Hermione. And you're all back," she smiled, but it faltered when she saw Kakashi, "What's wrong?"

Kakashi looked from her to Hermione in disbelief, "How is it that you can just look at me and know? Is there a spell I don't know about that allows you to magically see injuries?"

"So you are injured then," Hermione pointed at him.

"No, I just—I got kicked in the chest. It's nothing."

"Your posture begs to differ, dear," Molly said matter-of-factly, "You're all tense. Go in the sitting room so Hermione can look at you. You lot can help me with lunch," she gestured to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. They dutifully hung their cloaks up and set their wands on the kitchen table. Naruto glanced at Kakashi.

"Go on; training starts right after lunch," he said, undoing his own cloak.

"Alright!" Naruto seemed very satisfied with this answer and joined his teammates in the kitchen. Kakashi heard Sakura questioning Molly about wands as he entered the sitting room, Hermione following close behind.

"Lie down," she commanded when they reached the sofa. He did, wincing slightly.

"You have medical training?" he asked.

"A year and a half," she replied, "I went back to Hogwarts for my last year after the war and then started training to become a Healer, but… it didn't work out." She rested a hand lightly on his chest and he sucked in sharp breath. "Wow, that bad huh?" Before he could protest she lifted up his shirt. "Oh… that is bad."

Massive bruises seemed to radiate out on his torso, already an ugly red and purple color. Kakashi scrunched up his face at the sight. Now he knew why that kick packed such a punch.

"Sorry about this, but I have to check for broken ribs," she pressed lightly on certain places, while Kakashi tried to keep a straight face. "Okay, nothing's broken. But this pattern, I've never seen it before—"

"It was a chakra-focused hit," Kakashi explained, pulling his shirt down and sitting up. "She focused chakra into her foot and kicked me, targeting my own network. When chakra is released, it radiates outward, causing the pattern. She always had amazing control that way, almost a bloodline ability."

"She?" Hermione asked, "It was Rin?" she said in disbelief. "How did you find her?"

"We…" he tugged his mask up, an old nervous habit, "ran into each other. Ron can fill you in." She nodded, sensing that he didn't want to talk about it. He looked at her, "How could you tell?" She just cocked her head to one side in confusion. "That I'm injured," he elaborated. "Both of you saw right through me, and that doesn't usually happen."

She shrugged, "Well most people haven't raised seven children or been best friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley for 15 years. You learn to see the signs when they chronically hide their injuries from you." She put a hand on his shoulder, "Since you're not bleeding internally, you should come have something to eat. I'm sure Molly has something that'll help with the pain too."

He nodded, staring at the fireplace. Hermione left for the kitchen when he made no move to get up, leaving him with his thoughts.

When they first met, it had taken Rin a few days to see through him, even if they didn't talk much. She knew instantly if he was hiding any injury, or when he was about to explode at Obito, and she would step in. Even his father hadn't been able to read him so well. Now he wondered if she could ever truly see him again.

0-o-0

Team Seven spent the rest of the afternoon training. Kakashi showed them an array of both defensive and offensive spells and then had them try a few. In a few hours, they had all mastered disarming, and Sakura had managed to levitate a gnome few feet off the ground, even while it kicked and screamed. Naruto simply bounced the offending creature on the ground in his attempt, and Sasuke didn't accomplish the spell at all, already having trouble disarming with his wand spewing flames every time he touched it. He wasn't happy about it. Naruto was ecstatic.

Kakashi had them doing combat drills when Harry came out of the house.

"Ginny told me you've been out here all afternoon," he said by way of greeting, "No rest for the weary, huh?"

"It's just a few bruises, nothing I can't handle. You lock up our mysterious chaser?"

"He's not going anywhere for tonight. First thing tomorrow, we'll make him tell us what he knows." Harry glanced at Kakashi, "Don't get your hopes up though. He might not know much of anything; he doesn't seem too bright."

"But somebody hired him to track down Rin, so at the very least he might have a voice, a direction, a location. Something. I'm not stupid enough to expect he knows everything. But all we need is one lead."

Harry nodded. They stood in silence for a few moments except for Kakashi calling out instructions to his students.

"They should learn to fly," Harry suddenly said.

Kakashi tensed at the mention of the offending practice. He glanced sideways at Harry suspiciously.

"You should learn too," the Auror added, barely suppressing a smirk.

"Laugh all you want, but don't forget the history I have of saving your ass. Without a broomstick," Kakashi retorted.

Harry put up his hands in defense, "You don't give me much to laugh at; I gotta take what I can get. Really though, I owe you one free lesson, don't I?"

Kakashi sighed, watching his students, remember Harry's Christmas gift so many years ago. Just a note, reading: _Good for one flying lesson._

"Fine. You got four brooms handy?" Kakashi asked, hoping he didn't.

"I think the Weasley collection should do fine," Harry replied, in a tone of voice that told Kakashi he was more than happy to be ordering him around on a broomstick.

"That's enough, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura! Take a break, then we'll be starting flying lessons."

"Flying?" Naruto immediately questioned, even though he was breathing hard. Sasuke stood tall next to him, trying to look like he wasn't winded, and Sakura had flopped to the ground on the other side of him, though she too perked her head up at the mention of flight. "We get to fly?" Naruto practically shouted in excitement, smiling ear to ear. Kakashi couldn't help but be a little amused. He knew Naruto would get it straight away; he was willing to do just about anything.

"Yes, but take it down a few notches first. I need you all to be able to focus. So, get some water, and be back out in ten."

0-o-0

It wasn't long before the genin made their first flights around the house, and then began experimenting with different maneuvers, all carefully supervised and instructed by Harry. Kakashi remembered how good a teacher the wizard was, though he himself stayed away from his assigned broomstick, watching his students instead. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves, even Sasuke (though he had the same problem as Kakashi in the beginning: trusting an inanimate object).

"Aren't you going to fly, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura called down to him after successfully pulling off a backwards loop on her broom.

"Yeah, let's go Kakashi-sensei," Harry elbowed Kakashi teasingly.

He held up a hand to block the falling sunlight, "It's not really my thing," he replied ignoring the wizard next to him.

"C'mon Kakashi-sensei!," Naruto said, "It's really fun—" then Sasuke rammed into him from the side. "Oi, Sasuke, watch it!"

"Oops," the Uchiha smirked.

"Maybe later," Kakashi acquiesced, to stop their asking.

"In that case," Harry grabbed Kakashi's broom, "I'll teach you lot to play Quidditch."

0-o-0

The next morning Kakashi entered the Ministry of Magic with Ron and Harry, without his students. He emerged from the green flames of one of the many fireplaces in the main hall and took in the area, last having seen it in shambles after the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort. Kakashi's gaze automatically drifted to the lifts, where he had left Rin after she was attacked by Bellatrix Lestrange. He remembered the relief he had felt when she came out of unconsciousness just long enough to show him that she was alive. He directed his gaze away from the spot, feeling Harry's eyes on him, and looked at the new statue in the middle of the atrium.

It wasn't much different than the one that had previously been there, but now there were names etched into the base, names Kakashi quickly recognized to be ones who fought and died in the war against Voldemort. He was just able to pick out Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody before the turned for the lifts.

"They wanted to put a statue of Harry there," Ron said, and Kakashi heard the smirk in his voice.

"Over my dead body," Harry grumbled, "I'm not going to come into work every day and have to look at my own bloody statue."

"I can see how that would be annoying," Kakashi remarked, fighting a laugh.

They took the lift up to the Auror office. Harry and Ron deposited their briefcases and cloaks in their offices and led Kakashi down a maze of hallways before they finally approached an interrogation room. They entered the viewing room next door and stood before the one-way glass, beyond which their suspect sat, eyes staring down at his folded hands on the table before him.

"So? What's the plan?" Ron asked, glancing at Kakashi.

"He's defensive. His body is hunched over and he's staring downward—blocking out anyone else. Whoever he is, and whatever he knows, he's not willing to share. Probably afraid to say anything," Kakashi observed. "We'll have to tread lightly. Ron, stay here and watch him carefully, note anything useful he says. Harry, with me." He lead the way out of the room and towards the adjacent door. He put his hand on the doorknob when he looked at Harry, "I need you to keep me in check. I can't pretend I'm not angry at this guy."

Harry held up a hand, "No problem. I've always wanted to stun you."

Kakashi set his mouth in a grim line before turning the knob and entering the room.

0-o-0

Since Kakashi simply stood staring at chaser guy for a solid thirty seconds after they entered the room, Harry decided to start the line of questioning.

"Your name?" he asked authoritatively.

Unsurprisingly, the man remained silent, still staring at his folded hands. Whether he had training for this kind of situation or he was just afraid Kakashi didn't know, but he knew there could be no easing into this interrogation. He went straight for the truth.

"Why were you chasing her?"

No answer.

Already fed up with the silent treatment, Kakashi whipped out his wand and pointed it underneath the man's chin, forcing him to look up at Kakashi's masked face. The shinobi sensed Harry tense up, but the wizard did not move to stop him. Chaser guy's eyes flickered between Kakashi and Harry, failing to keep a controlled expression.

"Look at me," Kakashi commanded with forced calm. Chaser did. "Now tell me. Why were you after her?" He drew out his words slowly, taking a leaf from Snape's book.

Their suspect's lip quivered as he replied, "He'll kill me if I say anything."

"We can protect you," Harry quickly said.

"No, he'll know. None of you are a match for him," he spat, "He's… different."

"Different how?" Chaser's gaze switched back to Kakashi but remained silent. Kakashi prodded him with his wand threateningly.

"He's… stronger than most wizards. He—I've never seen him use a wand."

Harry and Kakashi exchanged looks. So the fact that Rokuro was a shinobi wasn't common knowledge. That was good at least.

"I don't even know anything about the girl, I swear. He doesn't tell me nothing. Just a message and a place and how much I get paid if I do it. I only even been around him once, and I didn't see his face. Nothing."

"Do you know anything about Greenwich?" Kakashi stared into the man's eyes. He remained silent. Kakashi seriously considered switching out his wand for a kunai. He jabbed Chaser in the throat with his wand.

He coughed and jerked away, "No, man, I said he doesn't tell me nothing!"

After a moment, Kakashi sighed and withdrew his wand. Chaser rubbed his neck and glared at Kakashi.

"Fine," the shinobi said.

He quickly left the interrogation room, Harry close behind him. As soon as the door was shut, Harry asked, "How close were you to cursing him?"

"If I cursed him, he probably wouldn't be able to tell us whatever it is that he's hiding," Kakashi answered.

"I agree," Harry replied, "And to be clear, if you ever do curse him, it's on me. And then I'd have to stun you, like I said. So I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't."

Kakashi couldn't help but smirk, "Understood. For now, how about you show me the crime scene at the Greenwich residence?"

0-o-0

**We're getting a little bit CSI here, I know. Don't worry, I will deviate from that shortly. Also I didn't do any research beforehand, but I don't think a new statue in the Ministry was mentioned after the war, so I took a little creative license. Correct me if I'm wrong.**

**Side note/SPOILER ALERT: Did anyone else read the newest Naruto chapter yet? Just so you know, I knew Kakashi and Tobi and Obito were connected somehow! I never really bought into the Tobi is Obito theory, but there were just too many coincidences for them not to be connected in some way. And for the record, I like this way much better. Okay rant over. **


	10. Chapter 9

**This one's a bit longer, with some heavy explanation. Eight days left until I leave for college! Enjoy.**

0-o-0

Chapter 9: Born Strong

0-o-0

They apparated just outside the little house. Harry wasn't kidding when he said that it was out in the countryside. Kakashi did a 360 and didn't see another shelter anywhere. Just sloping fields and the occasional tree and much more sky than he was used to. It was a little unnerving even.

"Gives me the creeps, this place," Ron voiced aloud exactly what Kakashi was thinking.

"The sooner we do this the better, then," Harry said, leading the way through the little gate that separated the property from the dirt road. The front garden was quite literally a garden; Kakashi didn't see a square foot of space that wasn't occupied by a vegetable or plant of some kind. He guessed it helped to grow your own food when you were so far away from civilization. Then he remembered wizards could apparate. Maybe Carolyn Greenwich disliked apparition, Kakashi supposed. She probably wouldn't be the first wizard to do so.

Harry stopped suddenly when they reached the front door. He stepped aside so that Kakashi and Ron could see that it was splintered around the doorknob. It had been kicked in before. Kakashi silently pointed at Harry with a raised eyebrow, _'Did you guys do this?'_ Harry shook his head and drew his wand. No.

Kakashi drew his wand, and then thought better of it, switching it out for a kunai instead. Maybe it was better to be a shinobi for this one. Harry motioned for Kakashi and Ron to step to one side, out of the path in front of the door, and he stepped to the other side. Then with one hand, he carefully pushed open the door. Since nothing immediately jumped out at them after a few seconds, Kakashi entered the quiet house first.

They entered a hallway, at the end of which was a large sitting room. Off of the right side of the hall about halfway down was a bathroom. They cleared the bathroom and a coat closet, then moved into the sitting room. Finding nothing in there, they turned left to inspect the kitchen and past that down another hallway which lead to two small bedrooms. Each time they opened a door they were only greeted by silence.

"All clear," Ron announced after going into the last bedroom. "There's no one here. Nothing's even been moved."

"Maybe," Kakashi said as they returned to the kitchen. "I understand what you were saying now, Harry. I can feel it."

"Dark magic?" Harry asked, glancing out the kitchen window warily.

"No, chakra. It's definitely chakra," he replied. And there was something else off, but he wasn't sure of it yet. "Where did you find the body?" Kakashi asked, looking around and stowing his kunai.

"The living room," Ron replied, "Over here."

Ron lead Kakashi to a spot in front of the sofa where a rather large bloodstain marred the otherwise clean carpet. Kakashi crouched to inspect it.

"Did she fight back?" he asked.

"There were bruises on her wrists and neck, but no scratches or anything under her fingernails to indicate that she seriously fought with her attackers," Harry answered.

"Then why all the blood?"

"Head wound. Basically her skull was bashed in, multiple times. That's how she died, and that's why it's strange. The Killing Curse is much faster and less messy."

"For Rokuro, bashing skulls is probably easier. More familiar."

"You're sure it was him then?" Ron asked, frowning down at Kakashi.

The shinobi stood, "I can feel traces of chakra here. It's not Rin's, so that leaves him, unless there are any other shinobi in the Wizarding World that I don't know about. You thought it was dark magic because it's… heavy. That's how Rin described it in her journal. Heavy, suffocating, overpowering. And it's been two weeks since he's been here, and we can still feel the remains of it. It's no wonder she barely got away," he muttered the last part to himself. "The question is: why would he kill this old lady in the first place?"

"She must have known something about Rin," Harry proposed.

Ron agreed, "Yeah, she must have had information Rokuro needed to find her."

"Maybe… But Rokuro himself showing up just for information? We already know that he has people working for him. Why not just send them…" Kakashi walked back to the kitchen, looking in the sink. Two plates and two glasses and two knives and two forks sat in the dish drainer.

"You left everything untouched, right?" He asked.

"Yes," Harry answered, following Kakashi's gaze.

"And when did you find her? What time of day?"

"Early in the morning," Harry said, catching on, "Those would have been the previous nights dishes."

"And why would an old woman living by herself have two sets of dishes from dinner," Kakashi continued, "unless she had a guest."

"Rin was staying with Carolyn Greenwich?" Ron said incredulously, "But she wouldn't even come to us for help, much less a random stranger."

"No, no, no, this is the best way," Kakashi went on, putting the pieces together, "Someone far removed from society living alone, even grows much of her own food so that she doesn't have to go out," he gestured towards the front of the house and the garden, "completely off the map. Still," he frowned, folding his arms, "she wouldn't have asked for help unless she was seriously injured. She wouldn't have wanted to risk another life. Carolyn Greenwich might have even found her—What?"

Harry had slapped a hand to his forehead—in revelation, not in pain, fortunately. "Carolyn Greenwich was a retired nurse. She used to work at St. Mungo's. Apart from major surgery, she probably could have fixed just about any injury. And it would be in her nature to help an injured person, especially a young woman."

"Okay, so how did Rokuro find her?" Ron asked.

Kakashi shrugged, "Who knows, maybe they fought and she got away. She had to have been injured; it couldn't have happened too far from here… I know she wouldn't have accepted help unless she really needed it. And no matter how twisted he is, he's a shinobi too. He would have discovered eventually that this was the ideal hiding place for her to recuperate. How many days she managed to stay here I don't know, but my next assumption would be that she left right after dinner one night, quietly slipped away. Then Rokuro came during the night but she had already gone. So he questions Greenwich, and kills her when she can't tell him anything."

"So Rin wouldn't know about any of this," Harry reasoned quietly.

"No," Kakashi agreed. He sighed. "…Do you know which bedroom is Greenwich's?"

"The first one."

Kakashi lead the way to the second bedroom, at the end of the hall off the kitchen.

"Then this," he said, walking in the room, "is the guest bedroom, where Rin would have stayed." It was fairly sparse. On the right wall hung a large painting, and the left wall mostly had boxes and books and newspapers stacked against it, but there was a twin bed pushed up against the far wall with a small bedside table next to it. Paradise, if you've been mostly sleeping on dirt for several years.

"You think she might have left something? Like the journal?" Ron asked.

"Let's find out," Harry answered.

Kakashi inspected the bed and the nightstand, finding nothing, not that he expected to. That would be too easy. Ron and Harry started skimming through books and opening boxes. Kakashi soon joined them. Most of the boxes were filled with various household items: candlesticks, tablecloths, a truly horrendous lamp, more books. After twenty minutes of searching they still came up empty. Sighing, Kakashi looked back to the bed, wondering if he could have missed something, when the painting caught his eye.

The work itself was a landscape, not extremely impressive but not ugly either. Kakashi guessed it to be roughly two feet tall and three feet wide, certainly big enough to hide something behind it. He crossed the room and lifted the painting off the wall easily. He lowered it to find… nothing. More white wall.

However, he wasn't occupied with this sight for very long, because the edge of the painting closest to him suddenly sparked and smoked. He dropped it to the floor in surprise, where it landed face down.

The entire back side was layered with explosive tags.

"Run!" he shouted at Harry and Ron behind him, who both bolted for the door without question. Kakashi followed close behind and they all sprinted down the hallway and through the kitchen. They had just turned down the front hall when it seemed like everything around them shattered.

All three of them dove for the floor and covered their heads with their arms. Kakashi felt several impacts but nothing crushed or stabbed him. When the earth stopped shaking, he looked up. Dust filled the air, making him cough as soon as he tried to breathe. The front part of the house, from what he could see, seemed generally stable. He didn't want to look behind him.

He got to his feet, soon followed by Harry, who had been the most out of the way of the explosion, the first to leave the room. He looked at Kakashi, a bit dazed but otherwise unharmed. He pointed vaguely in Kakashi's direction.

"You're bleeding." Suddenly Kakashi felt the pain in his left arm. He hadn't been crushed or stabbed, but sliced, a nasty gash just below his shoulder.

"Explosive tags," the shinobi explained without prompting, "One of many ninja tools. He must have known we were coming—"

"Ron? Ron, are you alright?" Harry knelt back down to the floor, only just noticing that his best friend hadn't risen as well. He shook his shoulder gently but firmly.

Ron just barely lifted and turned his head. His hair and face were matted with blood.

"Wha… Harry… ugh" he mumbled. Kakashi immediately went to his other side and together he and Harry hauled Ron up to a sitting position. There was a large chunk of something sticking out of his head that Kakashi didn't want to think about but examined anyway. He thought grimly that it might be a piece of the glass coffee table.

"We have to get him to the hospital," Harry said firmly, "This can wait."

Kakashi nodded. He caught his first glimpse of the wreckage behind him as they disapparated away. Past the little hallway, only sky sheltered the remains of the once peaceful house.

0-o-0

"What happened?" Hermione asked as she walked briskly down the hospital hallway towards them, with just the slightest edge of panic in her voice. She wrapped her arms around Rose protectively, who Kakashi assumed was the thing encased in a sling-like contraption Hermione was wearing. "Where is he?" she asked a little more forcefully as she approached Harry and Kakashi.

"The Healers are in with him," Harry sighed, putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder, "They haven't let us in to see him since we got here. All we really know is that he's alive."

A small whimper came from inside the sling. Hermione glanced down at Rose briefly and then back to Harry and Kakashi. "Okay," she said simply, looking slightly at a loss for what to do, which was very un-Hermione-like. "Um… Molly is on her way—We agreed not to tell your students anything for now, Kakashi; we thought that should be up to you. " Kakashi nodded his approval. "Arthur came home straight away when Molly told him what happened, so he's with them now… What did happen exactly?"

Kakashi put a hand on her other shoulder and he and Harry steered her to one of many uncomfortable chairs in the waiting area. She sat down in it slowly, looking intently at Harry on her left. Kakashi sat at her opposite side, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. Though a Healer had immediately tended to his arm, it still stung a bit.

"We—" Harry started, trying to phrase it delicately, "Well, there was a trap and—"

"We got blown up," Kakashi finished bluntly, running a hand through his hair and taking off the eyepatch. He kneaded a fist into his eye; the sharingan itched. It often did after he won a battle or narrowly escaped death for the millionth time. "It was a trap, set by Rokuro to kill whoever came looking for a trail to follow to him."

Hermione's mouth hung slightly open and she turned sharply to Harry, "How did you fall into a trap? That's Auror training 101, Harry!" Harry didn't say anything.

Rose started to whimper again, and Hermione looked down at her and readjusted her a little. "It's okay, Rosie," she murmured and sighed.

"It wasn't his fault, Hermione," Kakashi explained, "It's my fault actually; it was a shinobi technique, paper bombs. I should have known better and I'm sorry." He apologized. Besides actually feeling sorry, he thought it was the best way to calm her down. It had usually worked when Rin admonished him for getting himself injured or wounded.

"No," she replied, still looking at Rose, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap, I just—We just got settled, finally." She leaned into Harry's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.

Kakashi put the eye patch back on and folded his hands to keep from fidgeting. "It's been forty minutes since we got in here. It's good that they're still working on him; it means he's alive and they're doing everything they can to fix him." Another line he stole from hearing Rin deal with the families of her patients. Hermione just nodded once in response. They sat in silence for a few more minutes before the witch asked quietly, "How did he know you were coming?"

That was a question Kakashi had been pondering for the past forty minutes. "The best explanation I can come up with is that he just got paranoid when his man didn't return, because we have him in custody, and rigged the house just in case we made a connection. I knew that guy was hiding something."

"Rokuro wouldn't do anything to the house before because the case was starting to go cold," Harry added. "No one would have ever made the connection between him and the murder if you hadn't sensed his chakra," he said to Kakashi.

"Which leaves the question of whether or not he knows who you are," Hermione continued, "Do you think he knows who you are?"

Another question Kakashi had asked himself in the past forty minutes. "Not my name, probably, but that there's another shinobi in the Wizarding World besides himself and Rin, most likely. He has to at least suspect—"

"Family of Mr. Weasley?" A female Healer suddenly emerged from the room across the hall where Ron had been wheeled in. They all stood attentively.

"He'll be fine," the Healer said. Hermione muttered, "Thank God," and Harry rubbed a hand across his forehead and released a held breath.

"It was a pretty deep laceration, but it did not penetrate his brain. He did lose a significant amount of blood, but we've already begun replacing it and he should be able to go home tomorrow. For now we'd like to keep him under observation overnight just to make sure everything's healing properly. You can go in and see him, just be aware that he isn't particularly coherent right now."

Hermione thanked the Healer and they entered the hospital room. If Kakashi wasn't feeling a little jittery before from being in a hospital, he definitely was now. Even wizarding hospitals looked the same as all the others he'd been in. White. Too much white.

Ron's eyes were half-open and he greeted them when they walked in, but he looked very pale and tired. There were several layers of bandages wrapped around his head and still a little blood on the side of his face. Hermione pulled up another uncomfortable chair to his bedside and sat down, looking very concerned.

"Oh come on," Ron said weakly, attempting a small smile, "We both know I've had worse."

Hermione said nothing, just held his hand and found a corner of the room to stare at and blink rapidly.

"You know, Ron, you're supposed to cover your head when you dive away from an explosion," Harry half-joked, standing on the opposite side of the bed. Kakashi stood on his left at the foot of the bed.

"I did, but those things pack a punch, mate," Ron directed his half-aware gaze to Kakashi, "I don't know how Rin's been doin' it all these years if he pulls off bloody traps like that all the time."

"I don't either," Kakashi replied, which was completely true.

"We gotta find her first," Ron said and tried to nod, but winced when he started the motion, "Right, head injury." He slumped back on the pillows. "Do you think I can hold Rose, Hermione? I promise I won't pass out or anything."

"Sure, of course," she replied undoing the sling. She carefully passed the baby to Ron, and he held her with one arm close to his side. This was the first time Kakashi actually saw the tiny human; her own large brown eyes were half-closed in sleepiness, like her father. "That's my girl," Ron said, offering his pinky finger for Rose to grip, "So strong." A ghost of a smile passed across Hermione's face.

It wasn't long after that when Kakashi excused himself and left the room. He paced back and forth in the waiting area. A sudden memory came to him, one that he hadn't thought about in years.

0-o-0

"Oh come on, Kashi. He isn't going to bite you."

"I'm more worried about him throwing up on me."

"He ate almost an hour ago; any vomiting is over for the moment."

"I still don't think—"

"Too bad, think fast."

Rin deposited a groggy blonde baby in his arms. He whimpered a little at being moved, but quickly settled into the new embrace. Kakashi sighed in obvious relief. They already knew the kid had a set of lungs in him, and he wasn't eager to provoke any tantrum.

It was late, and they were probably the last two people awake in the hospital, in the room that had become Naruto's home. He was three months old. Kakashi had gotten this far without having much to do with the baby's care, being so busy with missions and helping re-order the village after the Hokage's death. But he'd gotten back from a particularly bad mission that day and all he wanted to do was see Rin and go home. But since Rin was almost always with Naruto when she wasn't working, there was no avoiding it.

"You want to sit down?" Rin asked, pulling up an uncomfortable hospital chair. He nodded and slowly sat down. Naruto decided he didn't really like that, and started squawking and managed to wriggle one of his little hands free from the bundle he was wrapped in. Kakashi quickly stood up again.

"Pipe down, you," Rin said softly to the baby, standing next to Kakashi. She extended a pinky finger to the tiny hand, which immediately grasped on tightly. Kakashi tilted his head slightly in observation. Rin noticed and glanced at him.

"You do it," she said, pulling her hand away. Naruto made a displeased face, and Kakashi quickly adjusted so that he could hold him in one arm, and surrendered a finger to Naruto's grip. He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"It's a just a reflex, really. All babies do it," Rin explained.

"He's strong," Kakashi said.

"Of course he's strong," Rin replied, "Just look at his parents."

0-o-0

Not for the first time, he swore to himself: _I will find you._

0-o-0

**I don't know about any of you, but I always get jumpy in hospitals. And the walls are usually beige these days actually, but they do all look the same. Anyway, how did you like that little flashback? I literally wrote it on the spot, never having thought of it beforehand. Are flashbacks good, or do they just seem out of context to you? Let me know!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Double digits! I always feel accomplished when that happens. Enjoy!**

0-o-0

Chapter 10: Running Out of Luck

0-o-0

Rin shivered despite the warm night air. The cave she was hiding out in was dank and dark and rat meat was not particularly appetizing even if she could cook it with a zap from her wand. By now she was counting down the hours until she could move again.

Just a few days more, and she would hopefully be safe for the rest of the summer.

0-o-0

Ron came home from the hospital the next day, though he was still on potions for both pain and sealing the gap in his head. He was to be pretty much confined to a bed for at least a week, and although he wanted to help look for Rin, he wasn't terribly bothered by the arrangement, since he was left in Hermione's care.

For the following few days, Kakashi trained his students as usual, but instead of reading Icha Icha Paradise, he poured over Rin's journal, looking for any clue indicating where she might go. He started training again too, re-familiarizing himself with his Chidori sword technique and practicing his wand work as well as physical exercise. He didn't speak much to anyone, except when absolutely necessary. He rationalized, planned, and theorized, but mostly came up with nothing.

Why had they never talked about a situation like this? Why had they never asked, 'What do you do if you have run? What do I do if I can't find you? What do we do to get back to each other?' _Where are you!_

Kakashi threw the journal across his room in frustration. It smacked against the opposite wall and crumpled to the floor. He covered his eyes with both hands, trying not to scream. Then, sighing, he got up and retrieved the journal, bending back a few pages. He idly caught one line:

_I had a dream about you last night. You and Obito were chasing Naruto around the_

He snapped the book shut, knowing how the story ended. He and Obito chased Naruto across the Hokage faces because somehow the three year old had figured out how to focus chakra into the soles of his feet and run parallel to the ground. He remembered the end of that particular entry word for word.

_That was the best dream I've had in a long time. For a while I thought I had forgotten all of you._

Knock, knock, knock.

"Yeah," he said wearily, sinking back onto the bed.

He was surprised to see Hermione open the door quickly, slightly out of breath, a piece of paper clutched in her hand.

"What's wrong?" he immediately asked, "Is Ron—" But she waved him off before he could finish.

"No, it's not that; he's fine. I just—I had an idea, and I had to tell you."

Kakashi narrowed a gray eye slightly. "Okay."

"So you know I've been thinking about where Rin could be, same as you," Hermione began. "I was thinking that maybe she might go certain places depending on the season."

"No," Kakashi immediately waved her off, "it's too risky to have regular places to hide. She would know she needs as much variation as possible."

"But what if she found she found somewhere, if she knew she could get in without being followed or seen, that's unplottable and almost undetectable," Hermione suggested, sitting down next to Kakashi on the bed.

"Maybe, but that's not really… Get on with it," he said, seeing the anticipation in her eyes.

"Neville sent me this letter. He says he and Luna are having a great time travelling, and he's so glad to be on vacation, _and out of Hogwarts_," she emphasized.

"Hermione, I still don't—"

"What if she's at Hogwarts, Kakashi?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"…What?"

"Hogwarts, Kakashi. It's perfect! There's no one there in the summer except a few house elves, Rokuro would have no idea where it is, you can't apparate in—"

"Hermione, slow down a second," Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose, "If no one else can get in, how can Rin get in?"

"That's the brilliant part—you remember the secret passages that led to Hogsmeade, right? Both of you knew them, didn't you? Maybe knew ones that we didn't even know. I'm sure she would remember how to get into the castle that way. And very few people still know about those passages now that there's no Marauder's Map floating around the castle. If nothing else, she knows about the Shrieking Shack, which at least leads into the grounds past the protective barriers, if not into the castle…"

Hermione kept rambling for a few more minutes, but Kakashi tuned her out after the first possible explanation. Of course they knew the passages; they had spent nights studying them even. Maybe they had planned for this. They just hadn't known it at the time. Was it possible? He forced himself not to get his hopes up.

"Hermione," he stopped her excited explanation somewhere in the middle of saying that the house elves might even give Rin food.

"Yes?" she asked a little impatiently, not liking to be cut off mid-stream.

"How can I get in touch with Neville?"

0-o-0

A few hours later, in the late afternoon, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood materialized into the Weasley's garden, where Kakashi waited for them.

"Neville, thanks for coming," Kakashi shook the professor's hand, "and Luna, it's good to see you."

She hadn't changed much, unlike Neville. The same dreamy expression and long blonde hair and strange jewelry. Today she had forgone the radish earrings for a pair of planet-shaped ones. It definitely wasn't Earth.

"It's so good to see you too," she hugged him. "Is Hermione here?"

"She went to check on some things at home, but then she'll be back. Come in; I'll tell you what's going on."

They sat at the kitchen table and Kakashi explained the situation as best he could and then asked Neville, "Is it possible that she could get into Hogwarts?"

He ran a hand through his hair, still processing the story he had just been told, "It might be. The enchantments guarding those passages are old magic; they haven't been changed or reinforced. And Hermione's right; the general public is not aware of them and current students don't really know either. The last time I can think of that the passages really had a use was bringing people into the castle through Aberforth's place… for the battle." Luna put a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay," Kakashi said, crossing his arms, "…Neville, do you know how to undo any of the protective enchantments guarding the castle?"

"Well," the professor tilted his head to one side slightly, "I mean the really basic ones, yeah, the thinnest layers, but the really powerful ones no. Dumbledore reinforced quite a few of the old spells himself. She tried to show me a few times, but I think only McGonagall knows now, how to undo them."

"I see," Kakashi replied. "But the passages bypass those enchantments?"

"Well some of them, yeah, but not all. All of the ones we know of are still enforced by basic muggle-repelling spells and things like that, plus the little tricks you have to know, (like tickling the pear to get into the kitchens, for example) but if you can get past those…" he shrugged, "And maybe Rin would remember how to do that."

"I remember her being really smart," Luna commented, "I'm sure she could figure it out. And she wouldn't be endangering anyone there, most importantly."

"Yeah…" Kakashi said just to fill the silence, because his brain was whirring with possibilities. She could be there, right now… He had to find out for sure. "Thank you," he stood, "Sorry to have kept you from… wherever you were."

Luna smiled, "Neville, he thinks we're just going to leave."

Kakashi put up a hand, "Really, you should; this could be dangerous—"

"Oh, and we haven't done anything dangerous before, have we Luna?" Neville mocked him, something that Kakashi did not think he was capable of.

"Kakashi, we might not have seen her for eleven years, but she's our friend too," Luna said, "And Neville knows the castle better than any of us by now; you're surely going to need him."

"And if I have to go back to school on my vacation, then Luna's coming with me," Neville said definitively.

"Alright, alright," Kakashi gave in, "I accept your logic; I'd just rather no one else got hurt because of all this." He immediately realized he let slip a little more of his emotions than he intended, but if either of his friends noticed, they ignored it.

"Where are your students?" Neville asked.

"Oh you're a teacher too?" Luna remarked curiously, "I suppose you don't just get to be a ninja spontaneously, but the thought of you teaching is a little strange. And familiar, I guess, from the D.A."

Kakashi shook his head. Maybe he did need these two.

0-o-0

They solidified a plan by the next day, and by nightfall they were getting ready to set out. Kakashi corralled his students for a brief tactics meeting. They listened intently, game faces on. All wore dark cloaks with normal ninja attire beneath them in order to blend in with the coming night. Kakashi began to distribute assignments.

"Naruto, I want you to stay by Neville and I; Sakura stay with Luna. Sasuke, when we arrive I want you to stay in the shadows as much as possible and watch over the whole situation, give us a warning if anything looks suspicious." They nodded as they received orders.

"Kakashi-sensei, you still haven't really told us much about this mission," Sakura said tentatively. "What is going on exactly?"

"This place—Hogwarts—is a wizarding school, and it's extremely fortified. There are secret ways to get into it, and if Rin (our missing kunoichi) can get inside, it might be the perfect place for her to hide. So we are going to see if she's there," he explained.

"But the enemy are looking for her too," Sakura said, nodding her understanding, "That's why we have to take so many precautions."

"How could she know secret passages if they're supposed to be secret?" Naruto asked.

"She knows some of them because she went to the school for a while."

At the genins' perplexed faces he elaborated, "It was a mission a long time ago." After a pause he added, "I attended the school too. That's how I know the people that are helping us."

Sakura formed her lips into a silent "o," Naruto nodded sagely like he completely understood what was happening, and Sasuke pretended not to look interested.

"Is that all?" Kakashi asked, clearly indicating with his tone that he was done with questions. He received a few muttered "Yes Sensei"s and turned to Neville and Luna. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"As ready as you can be for an unpredictable stealth mission," Neville answered. More wit. Kakashi couldn't believe it.

Suddenly, Hermione walked in the kitchen door and closed it quietly behind her, then turned to them as if she was supposed to be there. "Oh good, I haven't missed you."

"What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked. Then Harry opened the door behind her.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked, a clear deflection off of herself.

"No, don't say anything," Kakashi said to Harry before the wizard had time to say anything, so he stood dumbfounded in the doorway. "Hermione, we agreed. You need to stay with Rose and Ron."

"I never agreed to anything. I said I was going home; I said nothing about not coming back."

Harry snorted. Kakashi guessed he'd heard this reasoning more than once.

"They need you," he tried.

"So do you. And Rin," she shot back.

"Ron has a hole in his head!"

"He's fine; he's walking around now and everything. He's perfectly capable—"

"Does he know you're here?"

"I've told him I was coming here, yes. And who says I need to tell him where I'm going all the time?" she said, clearly a little annoyed.

"He doesn't think you're going, does he?"

"I'm coming with you, Kakashi, whether you like it or not." Her gaze was steely, and Kakashi was finished trying to sway it.

"Fine," he turned on Harry, "You have it?"

Harry didn't say anything, and there was a brief struggle written on his face, but then he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Kakashi. The shinobi reached out to take it. To any muggle it would look like any old folded up piece of paper; Kakashi knew it was the Marauders' Map.

"I'll keep Ron from coming after you; it's your mission," he said, handing over the map, "And don't lose it. Be careful," he said to Hermione, who hugged him.

"Definitely not the same Potter I used to know," Kakashi remarked. Harry only nodded, and Kakashi knew he still felt guilty about not going. "This probably won't lead anywhere anyway," Kakashi tried to make it sound off-handed and not the least bit consoling, "And if it does, you're the only back-up I've got."

Harry nodded again, still avoiding looking at the shinobi and opening the door to leave. "Ginny wanted me to tell you that the Room of Requirement is probably your best hope if Rin is actually inside the castle. She said that's where she would feel safe, if she were in Rin's position."

"Right," Kakashi replied, walking out the door with Harry. Once they were outside he closed it and spoke mostly to the darkness. There was just a faint glint off of the wizard's round spectacles to identify the position of his face, "Tell her thanks… and you need to be with them, Harry; I'm not just saying that to get rid of you. We both have obligations to our… families, and we're both fulfilling them. This is how I want it."

"And since when does that matter? If I remember correctly, you didn't do anything that I wanted you to. And you usually ended up saving my ass," he muttered grumpily.

Kakashi chose not to say anything. He was right.

Harry went on after a moment, having regained his composure, "Send a patronus if you need anything. I'll be waiting."

And then he disapparated and was gone. Kakashi wasn't surprised to find that he missed the company. He returned to the kitchen where the others were gathered and they looked to him expectantly. He nodded.

"Let's go."

0-o-0

She waited just inside the mouth of the cave, scanning the ground below her intently. It was dark enough now; she could go anytime. But something was holding her back. Something just… felt off.

No, she was just being paranoid. She had to go_ tonight_. She'd already been waiting for days; she couldn't survive here for much longer. She listened intently, but she couldn't pick the slightest thing out of place. It was time to move.

3…2…1… Go.

She left the cave for the first time in days, winding her way down the steep rocky terrain, staying as low to the ground as possible and stopping behind the occasional boulder to listen for anything out of place. All was quiet, save for the crickets. It took her a little under twenty minutes to make her way down to level ground, where the arduous task of making her way towards Hogsmeade awaited. There was even less cover in this stretch of the journey, and she never looked forward to it. Even after three years of using the passage, (She still couldn't believe her luck, and she always wondered how long it would last.) she was always a little unsure of how to navigate it.

There was tall grass, and the darkness helped. One lone tree stood about a third of the way to the village. The only real cover for 3 miles. She had counted her steps the first time she ran it. Of course, the easy solution would be to apparate, but that was almost always more of a risk than a benefit, and she really didn't want to lose a limb just then.

"Okay Rin," she muttered to herself, "Get on with it. Ready, go."

She charged out into the grass, still staying low, but not as much as before in favor of speed. The mountainside was a grey blur on her right, and she made a beeline for the tree, constantly listening and checking behind her. She arrived in just under four minutes barely phased, and crouched down underneath it. It was a large pine tree, not unlike the one she had found Ron sitting under so many years before.

She narrowed her eyes at the thought of that slip a few months back. She had actually ended up in the hospital, through some undoubtedly well-meaning good Samaritan, who had discovered her lying in a pew of a tiny church in an equally tiny wizarding town, where she had collapsed after running for 26 hours straight after a small skirmish with a few of Rokuro's men.

She had opened her eyes sixteen hours later to find none other than a very confused Ron Weasley sitting beside her hospital bed. After the initial panic of waking up in an unfamiliar place subsided, she quickly explained that she was on a mission (not entirely untrue) and she needed to leave as soon as possible to complete it. On a spur of the moment revelation she gave him the journal, knowing he would keep it safe, assured him she was fine multiple times, and left. Most days she tried to put it out of her mind. Today was one of those days. Bracing herself, she ran out from under the only cover for miles.

For the next few minutes, everything seemed to be okay, but with just half a mile to go, she started to feel uneasy, that feeling like someone was watching her. She ran faster.

She just reached the side of a decaying shop when the first curse missed her by inches.

0-o-0

**So I changed my mind: they are going to Hogwarts after all. Ish. You'll see. On another note, obviously some crazy impossible stuff has happened in the manga as of late, and of course I'll be ignoring all of it. Just so you know. SPOILER ALERT Also, really Kishimoto? Really? You better have a really freaking good explanation for Obito's impossible turn to the dark side. I'm voting for mind-control/brainwashing of some kind. Because really? Just… no. That is all. **


	12. Chapter 11

**I'm sorry this one took so long—It was a hard chapter to write under normal circumstances, but combined with recent developments in the manga, I was a little overwhelmed. Anyone else? If yes, let this be the more optimistic version of the original Team Seven's story. Hope you enjoy.**

0-o-0

Chapter 11: The Reality

0-o-0

Kakashi and Sasuke ended up on the roof of Honeydukes, the most centrally located building (by Neville's rough estimate) and therefore the best vantage point to look for something that you weren't sure was even there in the first place. It also happened to be the hiding place of the most frequently used passage, which Kakashi seriously doubted Rin would use, but they would be stupid not to check. With Hermione's addition to the group, their original plan was a little skewed, so she ended up with Naruto down at one end of the village, while Sakura, Luna and Neville went the opposite way in the general direction of the castle.

Though he hadn't seen anyone else since they arrived, Kakashi was on edge. Compared to how he remembered it, Hogsmeade was eerily quiet at night. This was good, he told himself; the cover of night was a good thing. But it was good for their enemies as well. He hoped that between the seven of them, someone would notice anything amiss in the little town.

He wondered, if she were here, where would she hide? They could very well stake out the village for days, weeks, before they saw anything even remotely out of the ordinary. Or she might slip right past them. It was also equally possible that she wouldn't be here at all.

But that wasn't to be the case.

Kakashi saw red sparks fly into the air, their agreed upon signal if anything were to happen. He was off the roof and sprinting toward the edge of the village in seconds, praying that Naruto hadn't shot them off by accident.

0-o-0

She immediately ducked and ran for the back of the building, drawing her wand as she rounded the corner. The curse had come from her left, far on the opposite side of the street. With her back to the wall, she experimentally threw a disarming spell around the corner and was rewarded with four additional curses singeing the grass inches from her feet. She sighed. It could have only lasted so long anyway, hiding here. She began to form a plan, but shouting from the street quickly silenced her mind.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The voice came from a few buildings down, but it carried no less because of it. She heard the telltale whoosh of multiple clones coming into existence, followed quickly by more shouting.

"Wait, Naruto!"

As soon as she heard the name, she tried to round the corner, but was stopped again with a couple of spells in her direction. So she turned and ran in the opposite direction alongside the back of the decrepit building. She threw up a shield charm in the gap between that and the next building, which was quickly shattered but served its purpose. She was amazed that no one had come at her from behind yet and shot a quick look back as she ran behind the third building. There was no one there, but instead she crashed into something in front of her.

She recovered in milliseconds and lashed out at the body before her with a jab. It was blocked easily and she was shoved back with just enough force to put some distance between her and her attacker, but not enough to injure her or land her on the ground.

"Don't you stop to look at who you run into before you attack them?" an exasperated, familiar voice asked.

0-o-0

It was a senseless question, and he knew it. Just a stupid senseless question to vent his frustration. Because he _was_ frustrated, even though Sharingan Kakashi wasn't supposed to get frustrated. He conquered his enemies. But it was a different matter when your enemy was also your friend. If Rin was surprised to see him, she didn't show it.

"It might get me killed if I did," she replied evenly, and came at him again this time with her wand. She shot two disarming spells at him in quick succession. He dodged the first one and barely drew his wand in time to block the second.

"Just stop!" he shouted. Another senseless command.

She didn't. She came at him fast with a right hook, which he blocked, and then she dropped down and tried to kick his legs out, but he jumped and flipped behind her. He grabbed her arms and held them behind her back.

"What's it going to take? You used to trust me," he growled.

"You aren't real!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

She elbowed him in the stomach. Twisting around, she tried to reinforce the blow with a kick to the chest, but he backed away.

"I am not a genjutsu, Rin," he said, raising his hands slowly, "Form the seal; I'm letting you."

"I already tried, but he's more powerful than that. I'm not stupid!" she spat. She shot a final curse at him and ran. She didn't get two steps before she fell to the ground from his spell.

0-o-0

She tripped and crashed to the ground as the ropes encircled her ankles. Her arms were also bound to her sides. He took her wand before she could say anything.

"_Waddawasi_," she muttered, "Damn it!"

He half-dragged, half-carried her over to the wall of the building. She struggled against him every bit of the way, but finally he managed to force her to sit down, and without any sort of plan, he just started talking. Anything to get her to believe him.

"Just—your name is Rin Hayata, you're a medical ninja from Konoha, your favorite color is lavender, I know because you were talking to Naruto one day and you told him, but he just kept pointing at the sky and saying 'blue.' You laughed… Remember? Laughing?" he asked quietly. She said nothing, just stared at his face, searching for something. He kept going. "We were partners once. Before that, we were part of Team Seven. Minato Namikaze was our sensei, and later the leader of the village. Obito Uchiha was our other teammate… he was killed in the Third Great Shinobi War. And he loved you more than anything else in this world."

Something passed across her face at the mention of him, but Kakashi couldn't tell what it was in the darkness. But she wasn't struggling anymore. In fact, she seemed spent, like all the fight had left her.

"I am not an illusion, or genjutsu, or anything that would try to hurt you," he said, slicing the ropes around her with a flick of his wand. "Because if Rokuro was controlling me, I would not be telling you to run, to get as far away from here as you can. I need to get to my team, but I _will _find you again." He laid a hand on her shoulder. "I promise."

She started running as soon as he was gone.

0-o-0

He left as fast as he could, partly because he really did need to get to his students and partly because he was tempted to run with her, if she would let him. He ran out into the street and the sound assaulted him violently: the shouting of spells being cast, jutsu being executed. He wasted no time, stunning the wizard Hermione was dueling in the middle of the street. She waved in thanks and charged after Neville, who was running back toward the castle, casting spells over his shoulder at his pursuer. Across the street, Sakura and Luna were battling a man that towered over the both of them, but they were bringing the fight to him. Naruto (plus clones) was taking on three wizards by himself, and Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

Taking inventory of all of this in seconds, Kakashi immediately sprinted toward Naruto. The genin's only strategy seemed to be to barrage the wizards with clones, and they seemed to know how to get rid of them easily enough. Even Naruto, who had so much chakra to burn, was liable to get hit fast with only that tactic to help him. 

"_Reducto_!" Kakashi shouted, blasting the ground underneath the nearest wizard's feet. The man was thrown back a few feet and didn't get up. Kakashi threw up a shield charm to block the counter curse sent at him by the second wizard.

He was about to attack again when a blow to his shoulder knocked him forward. He stumbled and rolled, drawing a kunai as he did so, and flung it behind him at the offender, who crumpled to the ground. He realized his shoulder was on fire and furiously patted it out. He would only remember later that the flames were strangely ice blue.

He got to his feet, just in time to see Naruto hit by the Cruciatus Curse. His scream tore the air, and Kakashi thought he could see a red haze forming around him. _The seal is weakening again,_ he thought.

"No, Naruto!" he shouted, attempting to divert the attention of the attacker onto himself, taking no heed of the burning shoulder wound he just sustained. "Stupefy!"

The wizard blocked the spell and smiled toothily the shinobi. Kakashi was about to switch tactics and go for his Chidori when the wizard was hit by a jet of white light from the side and flew across the dirt.

It was Rin.

She sprinted toward Naruto, exchanging blows with the third wizard, whipping her wand up to block and just as quickly slashing back down to counterattack. For the moment, Kakashi didn't question, just added spells of his own to the mix. Neither of them managed to land a solid hit, but the wizard suddenly arched back, his mouth opened in a soundless scream, and he crumpled to the ground. Sasuke stood behind him, a kunai thrust out in front of him, grimacing. Blood dripped in a sheet down his left leg._ Found Sasuke_, Kakashi thought off-handedly.

"Sasuke!" Sakura ran past Kakashi and immediately put Sasuke's arm over her shoulders once she reached him; he grimaced but didn't reject the help. Luna stopped beside Kakashi. She looked a little ruffled but otherwise unhurt.

"Neville and Hermione?" Kakashi asked, looking behind him. Hermione was supporting Neville as they trudged towards them, but they were alive. "Good," he muttered. He suddenly realized that his shoulder felt like it was on fire, and the dark spots he was seeing weren't part of the night sky.

"Oh Kakashi," Luna said, coming around to his other side to look at the wound, "Your skin…"

Kakashi knew better than to look and focused on getting to Rin, who was helping Naruto to his feet. The genin seemed to be struggling for consciousness and he was leaning heavily on his newfound ally. Or old ally, depending on whom you asked. Luna went over to them and supported Naruto's other side. Still not looking at his shoulder, Kakashi tore his already half burnt sleeve from his arm and tossed it to Sakura.

"Tie that around the wound. Tightly," he nodded toward Sasuke's bloody leg. Sakura nodded and did as he told her.

"We need to go," Rin said urgently, "There'll be more once he finds no one has returned to him."

Kakashi nodded, still not questioning. He avoided looking at her, as if she might be frightened off if he did so. She lead the way, quickly walking not into the village but away from it. Kakashi nodded at Sasuke and Sakura's questioning gazes for them to follow.

"Kakashi," Hermione walked beside him, still supporting Neville. "We should contact Harry—"

"No," Kakashi answered quickly, "Not yet. Once we're out of here." She didn't reply. Neville hadn't spoken a word the entire time, and Kakashi guessed that his foot was broken. The shinobi decided to follow suit and conserve his energy for fighting the pain that was now radiating throughout his arm.

They walked hurriedly behind the village, far away from any light source, but none of them dared light their wands. They soon reached a clump of trees and plunged into it. The area couldn't have been more than a couple hundred yards wide, and they soon stopped at a monstrous tree that was bent over at a 45 degree angle half way up. Kakashi watched as Rin stopped, and leaving Naruto to Luna, circled the tree once looking down towards the base. She crouched down, feeling for a spot on the trunk. There was a slight click and a section of the bark slid in. She opened the small door fully, sliding the section to the right.

"How did you find this?" Hermione whispered.

In the darkness Kakashi saw the dim outline of her shoulders rise in a shrug. "Luck," she replied.

Neville whispered, "Hogwarts made a passage for you." Kakashi could hear the smile in his voice.

"You two first," was all she replied with, and Hermione and Neville complied, both lighting their wands and descending into the tree. Sakura and Sasuke followed, then Luna and Naruto (he was sort of walking on his own now, though still not speaking, which was slightly more worrying), and finally Kakashi and Rin. He went in before her, and she sealed the passage behind them. Though there was enough room for them to walk side by side, she made sure to keep behind everyone, and Kakashi heard her muttering spells as they went along. He didn't look back.

Kakashi didn't keep track of how long they walked, but it was a fair amount of time. Around halfway there Naruto started mumbling incoherently. He heard his name a few times, as well as Sasuke and Sakura. Once he thought he might've heard "dad," but he later attributed hearing things to his own injury, which only seemed to be getting worse. The spots in his vision hadn't abated.

Finally, they emerged into a large room with several cots lined up on the far side. Hermione and Luna immediately made a beeline for them and deposited their passengers. Hermione pulled out her wand and went to work on Neville's foot while Luna sat beside Naruto, unsure of how to proceed. Sakura and Sasuke made for a third bed; Kakashi followed them. Sasuke sat down heavily and Sakura promptly checked the makeshift bandage around his leg. The wound seemed to have stopped bleeding, but it was still a deep red slash.

"Keep it elevated," Kakashi ordered, and Sakura grabbed a pillow from one of the other beds and gently placed it under Sasuke's leg. The Uchiha somehow managed to look relieved and annoyed at the same time.

"That's good," Kakashi turned to find Rin walking up to him briskly, talking to Sakura, "Go to the cupboard over there and get me a bowl and towels and bandages—and there should be a jar with a kind of jelly in it; you'll know it when you see it," Sakura was already halfway to the cupboard. "Come on; sit down," she directed Kakashi to a cot a few down from Sasuke's.

He complied but still said, "You should look at Naruto first."

"I would, but if I don't heal your arm soon the curse will eat it away."

He finally looked down at the offending limb and his eye went wide. She wasn't kidding; his flesh seemed like something had been chewing on it. It was basically a mass of bloody bits of skin. He didn't look for much longer.

Sakura returned with the requested items. "Okay," Rin addressed her, "Take that towel and those bandages and—_Aguamenti_—the water. Clean his wound, make sure you get all the dirt out, don't be afraid to hurt him, he can handle it. Then take some of this," she gestured to the jar of yellowish jelly, which was vaguely familiar to Kakashi, "smear it over the wound and bandage it. Tightly but not too tightly. Then bring the jar back here. Got it?" Sakura nodded and shuffled off with all of the supplies.

Rin turned back to Kakashi, but she still avoided looking at him in the eye. "I'm going to put the counter-curse on you; the pain should abate a little and it will stop spreading."

Kakashi just nodded and looked away from his shoulder as she waved her wand over it and spoke a few sentences rather than a simple incantation. He gradually felt a cooling sensation enter his arm through his fingertips and spread up to his shoulder, but as soon as she was finished, the pain hit him all over again. He didn't let any of it show on his face. Sakura returned the jelly substance and avoided looking at him. He didn't blame her. She quickly returned to Sasuke's side.

"You should check on Naruto," he suggested to Rin while she soaked a towel with water.

"Not right now."

"He's in pain."

"I can't do anything for him right now."

"How can you know? He's never like this—"

"Because that is what it looks like when the Cruciatus Curse takes your worst memories and shuffles through them," she replied a little forcefully, beginning to dab the jelly on his shoulder. He winced. "There's nothing I can do right now. Let me help you," she finished quietly, and Kakashi heard the anguish seep through that she had been hiding up until then.

"…I'm sorry," he answered levelly. She just swallowed and nodded and continued to heal his shoulder.

Since they had stopped talking, Kakashi looked over to Luna and Naruto. Luna still looked somewhat unsure of what to do, but she was holding Naruto's hand, and from what Kakashi could see, the genin was grasping it tightly. Hermione seemed to have Neville all but healed; the professor looked much relieved and exhausted. She glanced toward him and flicked her eyes to Rin, silently asking what was going on, but Kakashi didn't feel like answering. He looked away, daring a glimpse at his shoulder. Suddenly he recognized the mysterious healing substance being applied to his injury.

"You had a bowl of that in the common room," he said quietly. She paused but didn't look up at him, then reached for the bandages. "After you found out what Umbridge was doing—" He pulled off the glove on his right hand, revealing the light scar still there. _I must not tell lies._ "It healed my hand… but I didn't like it because it was moving on its own." Somehow the memory managed to elicit a sort of half-chuckle from him.

"…I remember," she said softly. She finished wrapping his shoulder, and Kakashi found that the pain had now resorted to a hot dull throb that wasn't terribly overpowering. She stood. "Stay here."

He watched as she checked on Sasuke and Neville briefly and then walked hurriedly out of the tall double doors guarding the room. He counted to three and went after her.

0-o-0

He exited the room, finding what he already had begun to expect: the seventh floor corridor. Their current headquarters was the Room of Requirement. He was relieved; there weren't many places he felt more protected than inside that room. He caught a glimpse of her rounding the corner to his right and followed silently.

They walked for a while; she didn't seem to have a set destination, only kept moving, making sure she didn't run into any dead ends. She didn't look back at him once, but he made sure that she could hear him behind her. His goal was not to make her attack him again.

He didn't really know what his goal was in the first place. To talk, he supposed. More than meaningless exchanges about mysterious healing substances anyway.

Rectangles of moonlight patterned the floors of the corridors. Dark, light, dark, light. He found that he was apprehensive whenever she stepped out of the light, fearing she might be swallowed up in shadow and never emerge again. It had happened once, who was to say it wouldn't a second time?

Finally, at the top of a staircase, silhouetted by silvery light, she stopped. Kakashi, a dozen steps down, stood still, waiting. She turned around and descended the stairs slowly, stopping three steps away. She wrapped her arms around her torso, whether to ward off the slight chill in the castle or as some sort of protective instinct he didn't know. Then she looked down at him at last, studying him. He pointedly kept his gaze over her shoulder, watching the nearly full moon.

"Let me see your face."

He met her eyes briefly, searching, but they were deliberately guarded, calculating. It was a simple enough request. So he complied, reaching with is uninjured arm to take off his headband and then tug off the mask. It was a strange feeling, being so visible. What turned the feeling painful was her mask falling away too. She didn't move for several moments, just looking, memorizing. Then with a choked sigh, she descended the last few steps and he wrapped his arms around her.

"You shouldn't be here," she whispered.

"Neither should you."

"I was protecting you… everyone."

"That was never the way this was supposed to work."

She stifled a sob and he held her tighter.

"Yet here we are," she said.

He returned his gaze to the moon, "…Yet here we are," he agreed.

0-o-0

**I'm still not really satisfied with this chapter, but I'm not done with the story yet! Let me know what you thought in a review, and about the recent Naruto chapters. Let's get a discussion going!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Does anyone still read this? If you do, here's chapter 12. **

0-o-0

Chapter 12: Pressure

0-o-0

He awoke the next morning to find that there was no longer a warm body pressed against his side, and that was concerning. The wall that he sat against was cold and unforgiving, but although there were no windows, a warm light filled the room. He forced himself to calm down, quickly finding his quarry among the beds lined against the adjacent wall.

She almost immediately sensed his eyes on her and glanced over her shoulder, giving a small smile in greeting, then returned to examining Sasuke's leg. He was sound asleep, along with the rest of their party. Kakashi wondered just how early in the morning it was.

After introductions and reunions were had the night before, they agreed to make resting their first priority and that they would contact Harry for backup in the morning. Rin had remained silent almost the entire time, signaling to Kakashi that she still wasn't entirely comfortable with receiving their help, hence his panic when she wasn't sitting next to him when he woke up. He still wouldn't put it past her to run. Then again, he knew she would never leave her patients until they were fully healed. At least, he thought so.

Last night, she had stated that she would stay by the hall entrance door (where she could also see the secret passage entrance) just in case. He offered to sit with her, but she made him lie in a bed because of his injury. So he did for a while, and then he joined her anyway. When he sat down next to her and put his good arm around her shoulders, she muttered something to the effect of, "You're impossible," and leaned into him nevertheless. He agreed, and they fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the night. He didn't know who fell asleep first.

He was glad that she now felt, for the most part, safe with him. Safe enough to fall asleep next to him, with only an exchange of a few words. But he knew better than most that it was much easier to keep silent rather than discuss the truth. She seemed truly glad to be surrounded by friends again, but he knew it would take more time for her to really trust them. Or anyone, for that matter. He didn't mind; he understood. As long as she stuck around.

He stood up stiffly, noting that his shoulder was still fairly sore. And he was cold. Technically he still only had half a shirt on, plus some bandages. He walked over to her as she was healing Sasuke's wound. He watched, and within thirty seconds, the skin might have never been torn in the first place. Her capabilities were astounding as ever, he thought.

"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly, inspecting her handiwork.

"Fine," he replied, wondering where he could get a shirt.

"Here," she said, standing, and tossed him the white sheet at the end of Sasuke's bed, "You look cold."

"How do you do that?" he asked, wrapping the sheet around his shoulders.

"What?" she said, moving onto Neville and not particularly paying attention to the jonin.

"You read my mind. I was just thinking I was cold."

Her lips twitched up as she formed a few hand signs, "Some habits die hard, I guess."

He raised an eyebrow, "I look ridiculous."

"But you're warm and ridiculous."

Without thinking, he shrugged—and immediately regretted it. The blast of pain was so intense that he had to put a hand out to the edge of the bed to steady himself. In a second, she was there, guiding him to an empty bed and sitting him down on it.

"Don't do that," she hissed.

He blinked to clear the spots in his vision, "Won't happen again."

"It'll take me a while to heal you completely, and even then, curses are different from your average stunner, they're just really nasty, and this one was—"

"Rin," he said in a measured tone, "I'm fine, and I won't move it again. Really."

"Yeah, I'm just—" she gestured randomly and sighed, "I'll look at that now."

She took off the bandages around his shoulder, revealing the less-bloody-but-still-ripped-apart flesh beneath. He hid a wince as the air hit the wound.

"The jelly really helped," she stated, more to herself than anyone else, "I'll be able to heal it a lot more easily now."

"Sensei?"

Kakashi looked up to see Sakura sitting up on her bed, watching him with slight concern.

"Yes, Sakura," he replied, trying to retain his usual calm.

"Are you… How are you?"

That was the second time someone had asked him how he was that morning. Must be a new record.

"I'm fine. You?"

"I'm… hungry, actually."

"Right, food. I almost forgot," Rin said, glancing back at the other kunoichi, "You can wake up Hermione and Luna and go down to the kitchens. There are usually a few house elves down there—bring as much back as you can carry, and tell them that I sent you."

"Got it," Sakura replied, hopping off the bed. She caught sight of her teammates in their respective beds. "Is Sasuke okay? And Naruto?" The concern—for both of them—was evident in her voice.

"They'll both be fine," the medic replied, forming seals, "But also probably hungry. Get going."

Sakura nodded and set about her given task.

"We weren't so different, were we?" Rin asked, hovering her hands over Kakashi's shoulder. He wasn't sure if it was a rhetorical question or not.

"Team Seven," he said. She glanced up from her work in question. "I'm now the leader of Team Seven." Something flashed across her face, and she returned to healing.

"She's got good instincts for this, you know," she remarked, "Sakura. Things would not have gone nearly as smoothly as they did last night without her help."

Kakashi nodded, "She reminds me of you sometimes… Sasuke's like me. Arrogant, more stupid than he thinks, but good. And Naruto… well, Naruto's not like anyone. One second he's a complete idiot and the next… he's his father's son."

"He doesn't know then."

"No."

"Or about me?"

He noted the attempted off-handedness of the question. "I'm not sure," he replied. He might have recognized you. In Diagon Alley," Kakashi thought back on it, "He was being oddly serious. It wasn't like him."

"…I was going to run," she paused, and Kakashi silently waited for her to continue, "But then I heard him—screaming. I never could stay away when he started crying." She swallowed and said quietly, "He shouldn't know about me, Kakashi." He was about to argue when she added, "At least not yet."

"…Okay."

He looked down the row of beds at the sleeping genin. Even from his distance, Kakashi could see the tension in Naruto's face. Not the pain-filled spasm it was the previous night, but still troubled. Kakashi wondered what Naruto was seeing: did he have any hidden memory of the night he was born, the war going on around him, his parents' sacrifice? Some long-buried, pain-filled impression that was now being brought to the surface before his eyelids? He hoped not. There had to be enough memories of a lonely childhood to get through first. He sighed.

He suddenly felt a burning sensation in his shoulder and flinched. Rin's expression turned razor sharp. She quickly drew her wand and touched it to the wound, then pulled away as if drawing something out of his skin. Kakashi saw that the air seemed to shimmer for a moment in its wake, and then it vanished. She repeated this process several times, until the burning sensation disappeared. Then she continued to heal his skin and wrapped it in bandages once more. She sat down next to him heavily just as the door to the Room opened and Sakura, Hermione, and Luna entered, their arms laden with bread, fruit, pitchers of pumpkin juice and other foods.

"Just in time," Kakashi said, "You need to eat something." He gently brushed his arm against hers, noting how thin she was. He recalled her saying that she had almost forgotten about food, and he wondered how often she ate, especially when she was on the run.

She nodded, "I will, after I check on Naruto." She stood up, but her legs shook and she swayed slightly. Kakashi pulled her back down. She blinked and shook her head, about to get up again, but he extended his arm out in front of her.

"Don't even try it," he said. She sighed.

"It's been a long time since I've done anything that extensive," she looked worriedly towards Naruto.

"He'll be okay. Hey," he greeted Hermione and Luna.

"Hey yourself," Hermione smiled, "How are you two doing?"

Three times, Kakashi thought. Now this was just getting out of hand.

"Better," he replied, "The house elves were very gracious, I see."

"Yes," she said, and Kakashi knew she was biting back something about elves' rights. He couldn't hide a small grin. She continued, "They seemed to know Rin quite well, actually, and they recognized me." Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Hermione rolled her eyes, "The _Prophet_ likes to stay updated on their 'heroes of the war' or some such nonsense. Anyway, let's get this distributed."

Kakashi nodded and took an apple from Luna, handing it to Rin.

"Start small," he said, "Your stomach won't be able to handle much right after using so much chakra."

Her lips twitched up, "I told you that." She took a small bite.

"Must be true then."

Luna cocked her head to the side, "Looks to me like you could use as much food as you can eat."

Rin just shrugged, "I do what I can. Sometimes it has to be enough."

"You did what you could," Kakashi immediately corrected. "But we're a team now. It won't be like that again."

She glanced at him, chewing slowly. "Right."

He tried to ignore the ominous feeling growing in the back of his mind.

0-o-0

Within the next twenty minutes, they had all eaten (except Naruto, ironically) and Hermione sent a brief message to Harry via patronus entailing their situation. Rin was in the process of checking and healing Naruto when Kakashi called everyone's attention. Minus the medic, everyone looked to him.

"We need to get an idea of where the enemy is, if they're out there," he said. "Rokuro would have come to Hogsmeade long before now. He knows about last night's battle and probably suspects that we are in here, at the very least. That being said, he shouldn't be able to penetrate the schools defenses—"

"For now."

The group silently looked at Rin, who didn't return the gaze, focused on healing.

"It's impossible," Hermione said, "The magic surrounding Hogwarts is—"

"Voldemort did it, didn't he?" she removed her hands from Naruto's chest, looking at her.

Hermione paused before answering, glancing at Neville, "Voldemort was—"

"More powerful than Rokuro?" Rin asked sharply. "That's what I've been trying to tell all of you—Rokuro is stronger than him, stronger than anyone I've ever known. I know that's an insane thought for all of you," she gestured to the wizards, "but it's the truth."

"All the more reason to do some scouting," Kakashi said, and she found that he was staring intently at her. "We don't doubt you."

She seemed suddenly taken aback by her outburst, and returned to her patient.

Kakashi went on, slowly tearing his gaze away from her and back to the group at large, "Neville, what's the best vantage point to observe the grounds and beyond, specifically in the direction of Hogsmeade?"

He thought for a moment, "Gryffindor tower, maybe. It's hard to see Hogsmeade at all from here really."

"And you can walk?"

"Good as new," he replied, rotating his previously injured foot.

"Good. Neville, Luna, and Sasuke," the genin straightened at the mention of his name, "go to Gryffindor tower and look for anything out of the ordinary. Put those eyes to good use," he added to Sasuke, who smirked slightly but otherwise said nothing.

"Hermione," he continued, "I need to actually speak with Harry. And if I remember correctly, I think a fireplace would help with that." An image of Sirius's face outlined in embers flashed through his mind.

She nodded, "Feels like a hundred years ago, doesn't it?" She stood, "Neville, if I could get into your office, I think that would be easiest."

"Sure," Neville replied, getting to his feet.

"Sakura, stay here with Rin," Kakashi said, "We should be back in no more than a couple hours." The kunoichi looked a little put out, so he added, "She might need your assistance, Sakura. You were extremely helpful last night."

"Really?" The question seemed to come out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"Very helpful," Rin agreed. "And your sensei's right; this could be a long process. Your support would be much appreciated."

"Oh—of course, yeah," Sakura stammered, brightening. "I'll do what I can."

Kakashi pointedly didn't exchange glances with Rin on his way out.

0-o-0

"So?"

Kakashi glanced at her sideways as he poked the logs in Neville's private fireplace, arranging them more efficiently. He pointed his wand at the wood and set it alight; grateful for the warmth. He finally had a shirt, borrowed from the few personal items Neville had left at school before leaving for his vacation, for which Kakashi was also grateful. It was a white button-down, but he wasn't in a position to complain. However, these new comforts did not relieve him from the uncomfortable line of questioning he knew was forthcoming. He said nothing.

"Come on, Kakashi," Hermione goaded, brushing a stray curl away from her face "You've obviously talked. Is she…?" Her voice trailed off uncertainly.

Kakashi plowed through his answer, rightfully knowing that she wouldn't stop pestering him until she had an answer.

"She's not the person I used to know. She wants to trust us, but there's still a part of her that can't help but think that this is all a dream, even if she outwardly admits that it isn't. This can't be the truth because this is too good to be true. And if it is true, then maybe that's even worse, because what if this leads to all of our deaths… The list goes on. That's what I'd be thinking, anyway."

Hermione nodded, taking it in. "And you?"

"I want this bastard dead," he replied, stony-faced.

She looked troubled, but not by his statement. "Kakashi, what Rin said about Rokuro being more powerful than Voldemort, than anyone… Is that true?"

He looked at her and wasn't surprised to find fear there, though he knew it wasn't for herself. It was the same fear he saw in parents' eyes when their children were called to fight in the Third War. He had to remind himself that the Wizarding World had been through a similar experience, and his friends in this world had been at the forefront of the horror. The prospect of having to face such a horror again, after bringing a child into a world you thought was safe…

"I don't know," he answered, mostly honest. Because he didn't, really. But again, there was that ominous feeling simmering in the back of his mind, and it wasn't about to disappear.

0-o-0

A short while later, Kakashi was looking through flame into Harry Potter's office.

Harry paced in front of the fireplace while Kakashi explained what they were up against.

"So, really, you don't know what you're up against," Harry glanced at the flames mid-stride.

"Not really, not yet," Kakashi replied patiently. "I'm working on it. It would be really helpful if you could get some people over to Hogsmeade—the far edge of the village—and report back what you find there. But you have to be invisible; I don't know how unstable the area might be after last night's… scuffle." He tried to play down the fight a little, in the interest of keeping Harry from charging into Hogwarts to rescue them.

"I've already got a few scouts out there. All of you are really alright?" he added nervously, running a hand through his already messy black locks, "I think Ron's going to lose it pretty soon, Kakashi. And quite honestly I'm not really thrilled with them being there either. You, your students, Ron and I—it's our job to do this, but Hermione, Luna, and Neville? I'm not questioning their bravery, but they've all avoided death too many times for their luck not to be largely reduced by now."

"I'm working on that too," Kakashi replied. It was one thing for him to fight the Dark Lord, a powerful wizard, but still only possessing the spiritual side of chakra, magic. But the other way around? With the almost certainty that Rokuro had learned a spell or two during his captivity? It was risky at best.

Ron took this moment to enter the office.

"Harry, have you heard from—"

He stopped, noticing Kakashi's head bobbing in the fireplace. A flurry of emotions passed through his features, settling on relief briefly, followed by frustration.

"Is Hermione with you right now?" he asked with a forced calm.

"Yes," Kakashi replied.

"I'd like to speak with her."

Kakashi nodded, though he didn't know if the gesture was received in his crackling image. He withdrew from the fire.

Once he had blinked a few times and adjusted himself to his original surroundings, he looked at Hermione, who seemed to be waiting for a statement on his part.

"Ron is—" he only managed before Ron's face appeared in the flames.

"Ron! How are you; how is Rose?" Hermione knelt down in front of the fireplace.

"She's just fine, Hermione, but bloody hell! You can't just go jump in the middle of a secret rescue mission without telling me! I've been worried sick! …And Merlin, now I sound like my mum. Are you alright?" he ended with a sigh, a few sparks floating from his mouth.

"I'm fine, really. And you're absolutely right; I should have told you. I—I just knew I had to help. And now… What _is_ the plan now?" She directed this question over her shoulder at Kakashi.

"We have to get you, Neville, and Luna out of here," Kakashi said straightforwardly.

"What?" both wizards asked simultaneously.

Kakashi sat on the edge of Neville's desk. "This is a shinobi matter, and though I haven't confirmed it yet, I think this enemy will be beyond any wizard's capability—Not for lack of skill, but for lack of chakra," he explained before Ron or Hermione could object. "A battle between shinobi is much different than a wizard's duel, especially on this scale."

"How are we going to get out?" Hermione asked, frowning, clearly trying to poke holes in this idea. Kakashi could practically hear her going through the possibilities in her head.

"Still thinking on it," Kakashi replied. Suddenly Ron's face disappeared and was replaced by Harry's.

"Kakashi, I've just heard from one of my scouts in Hogsmeade. Something is—"

Just then the ominous feeling in the back of his mind was pushed to the front, pounding on the inside of his skull. He unconsciously pressed the heel of his hand over his covered Sharingan. He had never sensed chakra this dense before.

Rokuro had arrived in Hogsmeade.

0-o-0

**Ugh. Yeah, it's been a long couple months. On the up side, the manga seems to be heading in some sort of direction again, after all those flashbacks. And yet, it just seems so impossible. I would love to hear your thoughts on both this chapter and the manga! Don't forget to be awesome.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Well, I think I've apologized enough by now for my chronic lateness (sound like anyone else you know?), so I'll just say thank you, to those of you that have stuck with this the whole time as well as those of you just joining our tale. I can't express my gratitude for your support. So here it is: lucky 13. Enjoy.**

0-o-0

Chapter 13: Catalyst

0-o-0

"Kakashi, I've just heard from one of my scouts in Hogsmeade. Something is—"

Just then the ominous feeling in the back of his mind was pushed to the front, pounding on the inside of his skull. He unconsciously pressed the heel of his hand over his covered Sharingan. He had never sensed chakra this dense before.

"—happening outside Hogsmeade," Harry continued, unaware of Kakashi's sudden realization, "There seems to be an assembly taking place; no clear visual of Rokuro yet."

"He's here," Kakashi said quickly, blinking in an attempt to clear his head, but the pounding in the inside of his head did not abate.

"How can you tell?" Hermione quickly asked, standing up. "Are you okay?"

He looked at her. Beyond the confusion in her expression, she seemed to be unaffected.

"You don't feel anything?" he asked.

"Feel what?" she replied quickly, the confusion now etched with concern.

"Harry," he addressed the auror, ignoring the question for the moment, "Hermione, Luna, and Neville need to get out of here quickly. Any suggestions?"

The face in the fireplace was silent. Then he said, "You can't disapparate within Hogwarts boundaries. If you can get out of the protective barriers and then disapparate—but it's too dangerous. So would be lifting the barriers."

"If we could get outside the barriers to disapparate, what would we be facing?"

"Last report counted 20 followers and growing. He has them spread out in and around the village… What are you thinking, Kakashi?"

Kakashi removed his headband in the hope that the pressure in his skull would subside. It did not.

"We'll have to risk it. I'll get them out, just… be ready," he said finally.

Harry nodded, his image bobbing in the flames, "If I get any more information I'll send it to you by patronus."

0-o-0

Harry withdrew from the fireplace, blinking to adjust to his surroundings again. He stood up and looked at his best friend.

"Well?" Ron asked impatiently.

"Hermione, Neville and Luna are going to disapparate. I don't really know, " he added before Ron could object, "but I trust Kakashi. He'll get them out."

"So what are we going to do?" Ron asked, "He said he wants us to stay out of it because of chakra or something. It's a different kind of battle, he said."

Harry led the way out of the office as he replied, "Trying to scare us out of fighting? He really should know better than that."

0-o-0

"Naruto usually heals really quickly," Sakura said. "I'm surprised he isn't awake already."

Rin glanced at the young kunoichi, briefly diverting her attention from healing said hyperactive shinobi.

"The Cruciatus Curse is nothing to laugh at," she said, resting her hand on Naruto's forehead, healing chakra shimmering around it. "Much of what he's facing right now is mental or emotional pain, all I can do is take away the physical pain. But I'm sure he'll come around soon. If I could do it, he certainly can." She sighed lightly. Sakura wasn't the only one she was trying to reassure.

"This has happened to you?" Sakura asked.

Rin nodded minutely. "Yes. A long time ago. A very, very long time ago."

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"Don't worry about it. You're only concerned for your teammate; I understand."

They sat in silence for a while, until finally Sakura couldn't stand it any longer. She had to ask.

"So you were on a team with Kakashi-sensei?"

Rin glanced at the pink-haired kunoichi again and found true curiosity there. Of course, Kakashi wouldn't tell them anything personal about himself, she thought. Especially not about the previous team seven. It seemed like another life entirely. She had tried to dust off those memories held somewhere secret in her mind over the years, but most of them refused to rise to the surface. They were there, she knew, they were just hidden, blurred by time and hardship.

"Yes," she finally replied, "we used to be."

"What was he like?"

Rin thought for a moment. "In the beginning, he was serious, very strict, always followed the rules, always wanted to go his own way. He was the best of our class, a jonin at 13." She stopped there, unwilling to dig deeper. The tragedy of that day she remembered all too well.

"That doesn't sound like him at all!" Sakura remarked, "Kakashi-sensei is never on time to our meetings, he sits around reading all day, and he never stops telling us how important teamwork is. He really used to be so different?"

Rin shrugged. "People change all the time, Sakura. You will too, and Sasuke, and even Naruto. That's how life works."

Before Sakura could reply, Naruto murmured and stirred, slowly blinking his way back to reality.

"Naruto," Sakura stood up quickly.

"Sak-ra?" He mumbled, squinting up at her. Now in the daylight and as close as she was to him, Rin noticed his eyes were blindingly blue. Images of those eyes peering at her from a crib or laughing at her or crying for her flashed through her mind. Perhaps those memories weren't as far gone as she thought they were. They just needed a catalyst. He tried to sit up, but she gently pressed him back into the pillow. He looked at her, suddenly registering someone other than Sakura.

"You…" he said slowly, still blinking to adjust to the light. "You helped me… where are we?"

"It's all right, Naruto," Sakura answered, "We're back at the castle. At Hogwarts."

"I…" he suddenly focused on Rin, "Do I know you?"

She furrowed her brow, struggling to find an answer when the dense chakra fell on all of them.

Panic and adrenaline shot through her and she jolted to her feet. Sakura and Naruto had the opposite reaction, sinking down and holding their heads against the pressure.

"What is that?" Naruto yelled.

Rin was already halfway to the door. "Stay here," she commanded. "I'll be back."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she doubted them.

0-o-0

"How can you _feel_ that he's here?" Hermione asked as they left Neville's office.

"I can sense his chakra. Apparently you need to be a shinobi to feel it, which is why you can't sense it. Wizards and witches only use spiritual chakra, and even then they still use wands. That also explains how his wizard followers can stand to be around him," Kakashi explained as he swept down the hall in long strides, heading back to the Room of Requirement. He knew Rin would have felt it too. How she was reacting to it was an entirely different question.

_Don't run, don't run, you can't run…_

"Can you find Neville, Luna and Sasuke for me please?" he asked. "Meet back in the Room."

"Yes," she assented, knowing full well that she did not need to physically go and get them but that he wanted her to leave anyway.

He felt her eyes on him as they walked, not saying anything as he clenched and unclenched his hands into fists. They soon reached the moving staircases and took opposite ones.

"Don't waste any time," he reminded her unnecessarily as they parted.

"I won't. And Kakashi," the staircases had already begun to separate them, "She knows you're going to help. She's not going anywhere."

He nodded, completely unconfident in her assurances. Now mildly adjusted to the pressure behind his eyes, he retied his headband, tugging it down to cover the Sharingan, and continued up the stairs.

0-o-0

Kakashi sped through the passages, calculating odds, running scenarios in his head. It was going to be tight, but he thought he could get the wizards out of this alive if they timed everything right. He rounded a corner immersed in his own thoughts and didn't immediately notice her heading toward him.

"He's here."

Kakashi looked up to find Rin standing ten feet in front of him, a little breathless. There was a wildness in hidden in her brown eyes that he could distinguish even from a distance. His stomach jolted a little at the sight, but he did not stop moving.

"I know," he said, closing the distance between them, "We're getting Hermione, Neville, and Luna out of here before he can get to them." She fell into step beside him. "I won't risk getting their heads smashed in when they won't be able to fight him properly."

As soon as he noted her presence at his side, it was gone. He stopped abruptly and turned around. She stood a few steps behind him, staring at him intently. "I agree." She swallowed, her eyes narrowing slightly, searching, "…But how could you have known that?"

He stood rigidly as he realized that he had made a mistake, but it hadn't revealed itself to him yet. He quickly ran through what he had said…

"How did you know," Rin repeated tensely, "that he smashes his enemies skulls?"

Carolyn Greenwich's murder, his brain instantly supplied the answer. Rin didn't know that she had inadvertently led Rokuro to kill the elderly woman who was just trying to do the right thing. This was not a good time for her to find out. In fact, this was the worst time for her to find out, right before they would all be risking their lives facing him.

But he saw the fear, the distrust, in her eyes, in her whole body, and he knew he had no choice but to tell her the truth.

"A few weeks ago he was believed to have murdered a woman. Harry and Ron were on the case. We made the connection," he tried to be as vague as possible.

Her face paled slightly, but she remained stern in her expression. She didn't buy it. "Who was the woman?" He could see that she already expected the answer he would give her.

"An elderly woman named Carolyn Greenwich. She was killed in her home—No Rin, please—"

She faltered at the mention of the name and stepped back as he stepped forward. The empty wildness behind her eyes intensified.

"She died because of me," she reasoned slowly, never taking her gaze from him. He held it, though it was ripping him apart.

"No," he said softly.

"She helped me, and he killed her for it."

"Rin—" But he was silenced as he watched her expression turn to stone.

"We can't fight him," she said tonelessly.

"Yes, we can! We will!" He couldn't help but raise his voice slightly, inwardly cringing at the note of desperation in it. He took another tentative step forward; she took another backward. Wild eyes flashed.

"No! I can run; I can lead him away so that you all can escape. I have to leave!" She matched his volume.

"We can fight—" He stepped forward again, but she put a hand out to stop him.

"We can't—"

"We will—together. No matter what it takes—"

"That's exactly what I'm worried about!" She finally interjected. "You'll all give your lives for this. I can't let that happen, not after all this time. There's _nothing _I won't do to protect you!" Her hand cut a horizontal line in the air to emphasize her point. A lonely tear ran down her face, but she either didn't notice or didn't care. "Nothing," she repeated, her arm still outstretched to prevent him from moving. "Even if it means leaving, sacrificing my freedom, so that you'll live. _You_ taught me that."

This statement unexpectedly struck him. She was right; he would have done exactly as she did if he were in her position. He had a promise to keep. But he had learned over the years how dangerous it could be to deny help from anyone else. That it only caused more suffering—his, usually—in the long run, even if he was preventing someone else's pain. He needed other people; as much as he wanted to, he could never face all of the dangers that he encountered alone. Suddenly exhausted, he pulled the headband off again, feeling the pressure renewed. He didn't dare take his eyes away from her. Her eyes flickered once to the scar on the left side of his face, but she said nothing more. He raised his palms in a gesture of helplessness and shook his head exasperatedly.

"I shouldn't have. I wish I never had," he said finally, dropping his arms in emphasis.

She opened her mouth as if to argue and then slowly closed her mouth as his words dawned on her. The terror and anxiety in her expression was at least half replaced by confusion.

He met her eyes and held them, "I thought… " He blinked, trying to find the right words, "I thought distance was the key, when it came to you. I made that promise and I tried, tried so hard, to keep it; and I thought the only way was to keep you at arm's length as much as possible. That sacrificing… feeling… in favor of precision and sureness and putting up as many barriers as possible would be safer for both of us. And look where that's gotten us," he said heavily.

"Kakashi, in no way is this your fault," she broke in quietly.

He shook his head slightly, "No I—" he stopped short. "I mean… I've been more or less miserable since the day you left."

He was dangerously close to admitting a lot more than he wanted to in this moment. And what was worse, he couldn't read the emotions on her face. He decided to suck it up and keep going.

"And I'm pretty sure you have been too," he continued, "So let's say you run, miraculously Rokuro follows you with all of his men and leaves us alone. What do you think I'm going to do? Go back to Konoha?"

She remained silent.

"No, I'm going to hunt him down until one or both of us is dead." She flinched, but he kept going. "And if, somehow, I did go back to Konoha, and the situation goes back to what it was for the last eight years, " he put his hands up in a defeated gesture, "knowing that I couldn't help you, I'd either be a walking corpse for the rest of my existence or find some S-rank mission to get myself killed on." He walked the few steps forward to stand directly in front of her. "Or, we fight now. We finish this, and we go home. Those are the options. We have a chance here; we have to try. And for the record, I'd rather die here than slowly rot away somewhere 'safer' without you."

He finished and waited for an answer. He noticed that she was staring over his shoulder, not at anything in particular, just processing. Then she looked up at him with an icy determination he remembered. Suddenly, they were fifteen again. A mission, a group of young, headstrong wizards, an argument about how to treat them. She had won that argument. He had conceded. His heart sunk even further.

_She's going to leave_, he thought.

"Fine," he started out of his reverie, almost missing her agreement. Her eyes flashed, but the wildness was tempered now. "But we do this my way," she poked him in the chest menacingly, emphasizing her words before she sidestepped him, heading back for the Room of Requirement.

He took a deep breath and released it, thanking whatever God did or didn't exist before turning to follow her.

"You have a plan then?" he asked.

She waved a hand in the air absently, not looking back at him. "I've had some time to think about it."

0-o-0

**Let me know your thoughts, about the manga as well as this chapter, in a review. I'm anxious to hear from you guys after so long! Thanks for putting up with me!**


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